The lettuce team at Nunhems® has managed to achieve what seemed to be impossible. The specialist in horticultural seeds at the BASF® Group has managed to revamp the ‘trio of lettuces’ concept thanks to the development of new varieties that grow at the same rate, regardless of their colour or type. This achievement has been made possible through the research undertaken by Nunhems® in conjunction with clients in the 'high tech' lettuce sector, which is very important in northern Europe where lettuce production in advanced greenhouses with artificial lighting and hydroponic systems is flourishing.
At Fruit Attraction, Nunhems® unveiled the trio comprising Multiblond 3, Multired 4 and Multired 80 as a cutting-edge example of its innovations in the ‘Living Lettuce’ concept, whereby the lettuces are sold along with their roots for a ‘fresh cut’ consumer experience. The fact of having overcome the big challenge of selecting varieties with the same growth rate marks a turning point in the trio of lettuces format, which offers in a single package three lettuces with different leaf types and colours.
In the Romaine lettuce variety, the well-known Sideral is back, offering lettuce hearts of more than 500 grams. This lettuce is particularly suitable for autumn production in coastal areas, with harvesting in November and December, and for spring production in intermediate zones with harvesting between April and June. This is a very versatile variety whose production is targeted at the fresh, twin pack and processing markets, and also offers resistance to bolting, tip burn, twisting and mechanical damage.
Kisy®, easy to eat
Another of the big novelties presented by Nunhems® at Fruit Attraction was the Kisy®, a watermelon for individual consumption. Weighing in at between 600 and 900 grams, the Kisy® is a brand new concept that stands out because it is easy to peel and can be eaten in so many different formats and situations. Indeed, Kisy® adapts perfectly to the new Almería/2018 trend for healthy snacking because its compact size makes it easy to buy and transport, added to which it has a long shelf life.
The Kisy® line aimed at the HoReCa sector is a seedless watermelon with an attractive thin, dark green skin. The flesh is easy to eat with a unique deep pink colour and its Brix rating is between 9 and 11 degrees. Thanks to its innovative characteristics, the seedless Kisy® is ideal for eating like an ice cream with a spoon or for making cocktails in the shell of the watermelon once the pulp has been removed. Indeed, the interesting possibilities that Kisy® offers to the cocktail sector have already borne fruit in an exciting collaboration between Nunhems® and Bidfood to come up with new cocktail recipes featuring this innovative watermelon.
At the same time, a Kisy® range has been developed aimed at domestic consumers, focusing on the dark green, smooth-skinned variety. Offering up to 12 Brix degrees of sweetness, it guarantees a delicious eating experience and is ideal for snacking. The watermelon team at Nunhems® has developed a comprehensive package for identifying the Kisy® brand with its own line of packaging that helps distributors to differentiate it and attract customers’ attention at the point of sale.
Minigustos® vegetable snacks
Still on the subject of healthy snacks, this year Nunhems® revealed the huge growth it has experienced with the Minigustos® baby cucumber line. After just two years on sale, the production area of Minigustos® has been tripled, with a number of large companies coming on board this innovative project which already enjoys the support of retailers such as Indasol, Eco Inver, Perichan, Murgiverde, G’s España and Miguel García.
At present, the Minigustos® range includes the Eqclusive F1 variety for warm season planting and the Equipe F1 for cool season planting. Both varieties are characterized by their sweetness and crispiness, with a length of around 10 centimetres and a weight of about 50 grams.
Joaquin F1, the leader in the long-day onion segment
Another variety that grabbed visitors’ attention at the Nunhems® stand was the Joaquin F1, the yellow long-day onion that is notable for its high yield and minimal discards when it reaches a large calibre. Joaquin F1 is characterized by its high percentage of single centres that minimize discards for double centres when it grows very large, representing a great agricultural advantage for producers as well as a big plus for distributors and retailers. The onion team at Nunhems® has managed to ensure the Joaquin F1 meets the needs of producers who are looking for a reliable and highly productive onion, even in adverse weather conditions. They have achieved this with a highly vigorous plant that is capable of tolerating any kind of stress situation.
Joaquin F1 represents Nunhems®’ strong commitment to offering new and more efficient onion varieties that facilitate the production of a high quality product at a lower cost. To achieve this goal, the long-day onion improvement programme at Nunhems® is focusing on obtaining varieties with a better storage capacity, the quality necessary for industrial processing, and a high level of tolerance to stress, whether biotic or abiotic.
Faithful to a successful formula
The horticultural seed company, under the slogan of “Always Nunhems®, always with you”, demonstrated at Fruit Attraction that it continues to remain faithful to its successful formula based on offering fruit and vegetables that not only meet the needs of every link in the food chain, but in many cases anticipate customer tastes and set the trends. This has been the case with the Fashion® watermelon, the Galkia melon and the Q.verde range that offers the highest standard of quality in cucumbers.
Almería/2018 Nunhems® became a part of the BASF® group this year to realize a strategic alliance between two great companies that not only share the same values and vision for the future, but also coincide in basing their relations with clients and suppliers on two fundamental cornerstones: innovation and sustainability. Nunhems®, from now on as the horticultural seeds brand of the BASF® group, will continue to offer the very best thanks to the talents, skill and professionalism of its fantastic team of staff, a shining example of commitment and dedication to meeting the needs of their clients and helping them to achieve their objectives by supporting them in the development of their companies.
For more information:
Miriam Perez
Tel: +34 91 016 47 73
Email: Miriam@somosmint.com
www.agriculture.basf.com