On a plot of 5.5 hectares in Almeria, the team with Yuksel Seed recently opened up their new breeding and demonstration station. Crops will be grown hydroponically and in soil to show their various options for tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and eggplants.
Global presence
Yuksel is the largest seed breeder that is 100% owned by Turkish entrepreneurs. In the last decade, they've extended their global presence both in the Netherlands, Jordan, Canada and Mexico and trials and demonstrations in many more countries. Now they've opened up a new station in Almeria. "The station is located in El Ejido, in the area Tierras de Almeria", Francisco Sabio, Yuksel Seeds' country manager Spain and Portugal shows.
19 greenhouses
The total station is 5.5 hectares with a greenhouse acreage of 5 hectares. The station is divided into 19 greenhouses and one nursery. "Four of the greenhouses, covering 8,000 square meters, is dedicated to hydroponic growing", says Francisco. "The rest is grown in soil, with ground and sand, a typical way of growing in this area."
In soil, various tomato varieties are being grown. In the rest, there's 2.2 more hectares of tomatoes, 8,000 square meters of peppers (block, kapia, Italian etc). Another 8,000 square meters is dedicated to cucumbers: Dutch American Slicers, Pickling, mini's and snacks. Then there's another 2,000 square meters of eggplants.
"The peppers were planted in the final weeks of July and the first one of August. The tomatoes have been planted between August 20-25. And since the end of September, the cucumbers are growing here as well."
Helping growers
The centre was opened to help growers in the area get a better grip on their crop and showing the possibilities the different varieties have to offer. "Growers here deal of course with climate challenges and disease pressure and want to grow using less water and fertilizers, and more IPM in order to get the best quality and yield numbers. We believe our varieties can help them achieve this and want to support them during their cultivation."
For more information:
Francisco Sabio
Country Manager Spain and Portugal
Yüksel Tohum
Mobile: 0034 - 650468188
Mail: fsabio@yukselseed.com
info@yukseltohum.com
www.yukseltohum.com