"I realized that Socrate F1 was destined to become our flagship variety in the oblong green segment the very first time I saw it," said Emilio Tudisco, owner of the company of the same name, who added, "I was visiting a friend who grows tomatoes and, since I am a producer of green tomatoes, he showed me this variety to hear my opinion of it. At first, the plants didn't impress me all that much, partly because, we found out later, they had been transplanted out of season and were quite vigorous, fairly wholesome, but nothing exceptional."
On the left Emilio Tudisco
"But then I saw the fruit and some clusters were completely camouflaged amidst the dark, full green of the leaves, averaging five to six fruits, and they were big, some really big. In almost 30 years of business, I have never seen that intensity of green in the fruit, and to be honest, not even that size."
The Tudisco farm is located in 3 Sicilian production sites in the Donnalucata (province of Ragusa) area for a total of about 2 hectares in protected cultivation. It is well known for its specialization in the production of green oblong tomato, Roma variety.
"That day, I glimpsed a huge potential which has indeed actualized. After a first trial carried out on a small scale on the farm, a second enlarged transplanting took place on 15 September 2021, the ideal transplanting period for the variety. When I claim that this has materialized, I am, of course, referring as much to the agronomic aspect as to the economic one."
Socrates F1
"From an agronomical standpoint, Socrates is, in my opinion, superior to any other variety currently available on the market. I sensed from the very beginning its superiority in color and size, although I clearly needed to verify its uniformity in caliber and color and its consistency on a larger scale and over a full production cycle. To date, I can say that Socrate is the only oblong variety that can keep a uniform size and color down to 8-9 stakes. However, what I could not have guessed, has been proven over time and in the field. The plant is vigorous and has a complete resistance package, including resistance to TSWV, TYLCV, and Fusarium race 3. While it can be grown wild, it is best to manage its vigor appropriately under high-temperature conditions to keep internodes at a regular length."
"From an economic perspective, the variety has yielded us extraordinary sales numbers. In the period from December 2021 to February 2022, we sold it €0,50-0,70 cents more than other varieties in the same segment and in production during the same period, receiving a consistent demand from traders for the supply of this specific variety until the end of the cycle. For the next campaign, we will grow Socrate in two production sites, covering a total area of about 8,000 square meters."
"The superiority in taste and in post-harvest resilience, on the other hand, were experienced by the most knowledgeable person on the subject known to me, which is my wife. She made a salad with tomatoes over fifteen days after the harvest. The fruit was still very firm. Its flesh was appealing, its flavor sweet and well balanced, and it was good indeed. That's the only thing we ate for lunch that day, bread and Socrate."
For more information: 
Tomatech - Nirit
Andrea Trovato
Area Manager Italy
+39 349 723 4375
andrea@niritseeds.com
Guglielmo Roccasalvo
Sales Manager Italy
+39 366 988 7564
guglielmo.r@tomatech.com
www.tomatech.it