The breeders at De Ruiter peppers have been busy the past few years. This is evident from the new varieties of yellow bell peppers, such as San Siro and Sardinero. But the team also focused on orange bell peppers. This has led to a very promising breed according to De Ruiter, codenamed DRPB0737.
From left to right: Arend van Silfhout (TD De Ruiter), Bart van der Valk (Zwingrow), Duco de Ruiter (account manager De Ruiter), Peter Custers (account manager De Ruiter)
That the De Ruiter's team envisions a bright future for this breed is clear from the fact that DRPB0737 received a real name yesterday. The unveiling was given a festive touch at Zwingrow nursery, where DRPB0737 has undergone testing for some time at the location on the Poeldijksepad in Honselersdijk. Grower Bart van der Valk unveiled the name of the new variety with a big cake: Raptor.
Enthusiastic test partner
The De Ruiter team had a good reason for choosing trial partner Zwingrow, because Zwingrow has already been growing Raptor for 2 years with good results.“We grow DSP 7054,” says Bart. “That variety has performed very well in production and quality this year. But next to DSP 7054 we have been testing Raptor for 2 years on a section of the greenhouse in Honselersdijk. We have achieved good results with Raptor. The most important advantage is the higher average fruit weight, which means that more fruits fall into the more expensive grades. Just like DSP 7054, the quality of the fruit is very good. The breed has good speed and the fruits are strong against Botrytis. In short: a breed with a lot of potential!”
Zwingrow chooses the coming growing season for Raptor at 1 of the 3 locations. A number of other growers in the Netherlands follow that example.