Nearly 100 growers gathered June 18-19 in Leamington, Ontario, for the annual De Ruiter Demo Days. De Ruiter Technology Development Representative Jeff Gilbert said the event generated a lot of interest in the current De Ruiter tomato portfolio and future pipeline.
“We showcased our newest varieties and gave growers a preview of our tomato pipeline, which is heavily focused on high production and quality as well as resistance to Powdery mildew,” said Gilbert.
De Ruiter is Monsanto’s heated protected-culture vegetable brand. Protected culture offers vegetable growers a way to mitigate damage to crops Mother Nature can throw their way.
Among those products showcased were two recently commercialized tomato hybrids with Intermediate Resistance* to Powdery mildew: Merlice and Foronti. Merlice is a cluster hybrid tomato variety with large, round fruit. With very uniform jointless trusses, this variety has an excellent cluster presentation and easily lays flat in the box. The high vigor of the variety, combined with an excellent resistance package, gives this variety very high yield potential. Merlice has intermediate resistance to Powdery mildew, making it a good option for growers with reduced spray programs.
Foronti maintains firmness in hot weather, performing well in areas with high light and hot summers. Featuring high-yield potential and high vigor, this strong-balanced beef tomato hybrid has a large leaf canopy and can have higher yield potential than Big Dena**. Foronti’s deep red fruit has the potential to ripen quickly and uniformly and has a good shelf life.
New in tomato rootstock is DR0141TX, a vigorous, high-yield potential variety for the high-tech glasshouse environment.
“We are also focusing more on niche markets, especially on grape and specialty tomatoes,” explained Gilbert. From the pre-commercial pipeline were DR0603TC*** and DR4012TH***. DR0603TC is a grape tomato with high-yield potential, less fruit fall, good taste and optimal weight for the market. DR4012TH is a cluster hybrid tomato with high vigor, less light sensitivity than Merlice, better color and fruit size.
“The De Ruiter Demo Days give our customers an opportunity to preview the pipeline and compare our pre-commercial products to leading commercial varieties,” explained Gilbert. “It also provides us with a great opportunity to get feedback and listen to individual customer demands.”
Gilbert added that De Ruiter is committed to anticipating the latest developments and trends in the glasshouse market. “We are confident that the varieties showcased during the Demo Days could help provide growers with advanced, specialized products.”
De Ruiter’s DR0603TC Recognized in Hottest Tomato Competition
De Ruiter’s DR0603TC grape tomato grown by Jem D Farms was recently recognized as “best bite-size tomato” in R.E.A.CH. International’s 7th annual Greenhouse “Hottest Tomato” competition. De Ruiter was among the greenhouse suppliers, industry growers and marketers that participated in the annual competition that took place at the Leamington Fair June 14-16.
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