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Cees Maan at work at Axia Vegetable Seeds

"I prefer being among the tomato plants"

Anyone who knows the team at Axia Vegetable Seeds knows that many former growers, full of practical knowledge, are part of the team. With the addition of Cees Maan, an experienced grower who will now take on the role of cultivation coordinator in Naaldwijk, another layer of tomato experience has been added.

For 62-year-old Cees, applying new techniques in the greenhouse and optimizing cultivation have always been challenges. In his previous role as a tomato grower at Lans, he was always in close contact with the people at Axia. When it became apparent that the breeding company, which has experienced solid growth, was looking for new personnel, Cees was interested. "In this role, the crops are a bit smaller, and the focus is more on variety assessment and breeding than on production." At this stage of his career, that suits him just fine.

Exposed demo
In the past year, Cees could already be found occasionally in Axia's greenhouses in Naaldwijk, but he has now been working full-time since the beginning of this year. "I keep myself busy supervising the cultivation staff, giving advice, but also assessing varieties. We conduct a lot of variety trials at Axia, and because of the company's growth, extra manpower is also welcome here."

Essentially, the experienced grower will mainly be found in the greenhouses in Naaldwijk. There, the exposed demo is currently running in two greenhouses. "In it, our current range of varieties can be seen. It's good to see how our varieties perform under the lights here. There are also newer varieties on show, including a few new varieties that still carry a number." Not all varieties have ToBRFV resistance yet, but many do, as Cees knows. Axia is working hard to ensure all XR-resistant varieties are 99.9% the same as the non-resistant originals. The exposed demo has been open for visits since January 1.


Macxize XR

Unlit demo
Meanwhile, the unexposed demo is also almost ready to start, in early January. Here, cultivation was unexpectedly delayed. "In the propagation greenhouse, we had an accident. A fixture fell on a cultivation table and started smoldering. The plants that were here for propagation were damaged. Therefore, we had to start over. In about three weeks, we can still start planting."

Cees acknowledges that the accident was a bit of a scare, but he is happy that no one was hurt. The greenhouse is currently being cleaned. "It's no different. We will just make it a quick crop," laughs the experienced grower. "Put the pedal to the metal and see if we can still catch up."

Besides the familiar varieties in the demos, including the popular coarse truss tomato Macxize XR of which there is also currently a lot of acreage in the field under exposure, there are also several novelties in Axia's greenhouses that deserve a first assessment. "In cocktail and also in truss cherry tomatoes, I see nice things. We are doing nice things in several segments, and certainly not only in the Netherlands. Sometimes our varieties perform even better abroad."


Macxize XR

XR and LED
For 2025, Cees expects ToBRFV resistance "to remain topical" in tomato cultivation. "The virus will remain present for some time. The market still demands resistance." Another development that remains important, and which Axia is also keeping a close eye on, is the rise of LED lighting. "With LED lighting, we are far from out of our depth, especially now that the latest lamps have more and more features we can adjust, for example, for the spectrum."

And then there's the humidity. Especially under LED and with a lot of screens, it's a point of concern, Cees thinks. "You have tomato plants producing plenty in winter, while they evaporate very little. That's a challenge. LED lights use less electricity, but we have to remember that we also still need to put enough energy into cultivation to keep the crop healthy."

The experienced grower is already looking forward to all the knowledge that will again be gained in practice, as well as the many Monday meetings with Axia's salespeople. "That's where I sit. Nice old-fashioned talk about tomatoes. Lovely. Then you hear all those stories, also from abroad. Beautiful, man. It really goes from America to Mexico, and from the former Eastern Bloc to Spain." But he still prefers walking among the tomato plants. And there's plenty of that in Naaldwijk at Axia.

For more information:
Axia Vegetable Seeds
[email protected]
www.axiaseeds.com