The melon and the watermelon advance of the hand of the innovation

By Juan Herrera

In the middle of the summer, like the one we are in, one of the most consumed products in Spanish homes is undoubtedly watermelon and melon. Far from past times in which the consumer had little to choose from, the sector is currently advancing in the development of new varieties increasingly adapted to the tastes and needs of the markets. And they do it in the hands of the main seed-breeding companies, which make available to the producers the best materials to achieve this.

The main seed breeders work to provide producers with varieties adapted to the needs of consumers and markets. In recent weeks have been many of these companies that have released their news, and some surprise.

Rijk Zwaan, life and taste

This is the case of Rijk Zwaan, who took advantage of his Global Melon and Watermelon Event 2017, held in Cartagena, to show more than 300 professionals from all over the world their new melons and watermelons, in which the flavor is the great protagonist. Thus, they presented the new generation of melons Piel de Sapo Mellisimo, with the variety Dolsura RZ (which joins Ricura RZ and Bravura RZ), smaller size, more useful life and above all much flavor, up to 15 degrees brix, with the goal of reaching distant markets like Canada or Saudi Arabia without problems in the quality of the product, as the responsible person in melon and signature watermelon, Diego Maestre.

For the national market, Rijk Zwaan has also developed a traditional toad skin, of greater size, with golden tones in its maturity, being also the first commercial year of Mesura RZ, for the zone of the field of Cartagena, and that brings much more quality inside, when the sugar level rises to the melon one week before the cut. It is sweet, with more shelf life and resistance to powdery mildew and aphid.

In yellow melon, a whole new generation was presented, adding to the existing varieties resistance to powdery mildew and aphid: the 15A091 RZ complements Pekin RZ, the 15A225 RZ accompanies Yeral RZ and 15A353 RZ is between a Yer RZ and a Ducral RZ.

Among the novelties presented in Gaul, Rijk Zwaan released the essay 34-211 RZ, a long-life melon that has the characteristic that reaches the level of extraordinarily fast suga

Therefore, it is a very sweet fruit that solves the traditional problems of cutting the melons long life. Another new RZ Gaul is the 34-206 RZ, a melon with a traditional appearance but also with a long life appearance, a late complement of 34-211 RZ, and the 15G287 RZ that caused great expectation among the visitors: an appearance Gaul Traditional, with a vigorous plant, high production, very beautiful fruit, uniform and round. From the signature they emphasize that the Galleries RZ have managed to equal the performance of its competitors and to obtain resistance to the cracking and the oidio, with rustic and very vigorous plants.

Watermelon

In the field of watermelon, Rijk Zwaan introduced the new range of Sandissima, which is betting on a mini watermelon, with microsemillas which is beginning to give an export character, but really is an exceptional pollinator for export of great flavor and Deep red 

The last variety that completes the range of Sandissima is Gatinho RZ that retains a small size of 2-3 kilos, is a tiger watermelon, white with stripes, of great quality and much appreciated in the ecological market. They also presented trials with seedless white watermelon, Kidman RZ and Laurence RZ. Kidman RZ is a large seedless watermelon (6-7 kilos), with a high sugar content and very good texture, while Laurence RZ is the early seedless variety, very early, with good internal quality and ideal for greenhouse.

In seedless black watermelon, 62-517 RZ was presented, an earlier variety with very intense red meat color of great production and size; And is also tested with seedless mini watermelons (62-926 RZ and 62-923 RZ). The final surprise was the presentation of yellow flesh watermelon and black skin (62-599 RZ).

Nunhems, quality available to all producers

Another company that took advantage of the beginning of the summer to present to the different links of the food chain its innovations in the sector of watermelon and melon has been Bayer Vegetable Seeds-Nunhems. “Everyone in this business claims to have the best varieties to grow and the best gustatory quality they have for the consumer, but one thing is to say it and another quite different is to prove it,” says Crop Sales Manager for Bayer Vegetable Seeds, Francisco Solera.

In the Business Event for Experts of melon and watermelon, Bayer demonstrated the great commercial value of the collection indicator that already incorporates the types Galia, Cantaloup and Charentais for outdoor cultivation. This visual indicator ensures that the melon is harvested at its optimum taste and shelf life, even though harvesting is carried out by non-specialized personnel.

In Galia, there is a turning to yellow that unmistakably points to the optimum time of harvest. In Cantaloup and Charentais, in addition to the color change, there are physical changes in the peduncle. In any case, they are external signals and easily recognizable by any producer. Thanks to this harvest indicator in melon, the percentage of fruit not suitable for commercialization is significantly reduced.

In addition to the bet on melon flavor, the brand Nunhems has presented new resistance to insect virus vectors this year, highlighting resistance to whitefly, worm and aphids, among others

Mini ecological watermelon

The Business Event for Experts held in Cartagena was also the scenario chosen by the Nunhems brand for the presentation of a new mini-watermelon with microsemilla mainly aimed at the monoculture and ecological market. It has a high productivity and has the most appropriate caliber for a market segment where it is sold by whole pieces and not by weight.

With the new mini watermelon, which has a weight per fruit ranging from 1.8 to 3 kilograms, Bayer wants to meet the growing demand for ecological watermelon that is occurring throughout Europe, especially in the Nordic countries

On the other hand, the “seedless” watermelon flavor lines that have already been fully consolidated in the market due to their excellent internal quality have been shown. This is the case of the leading varieties of black watermelon “seedless” and varieties of white watermelon, such as Sun Gem F1 for production under plastic in the area of Almeria and Moon Gem F1 for outdoor production in Murcia.

Fitó, quality and taste

Also they are of premiere in Semillas Fitó. In watermelon, the watermelon variety Leonor is having an excellent reception among producers both in greenhouse and outdoors. It is a triploid black watermelon – without seeds – recommended in the conditions of the early regions of Spain, and which can offer a high percentage of fruits of calibers 2 and 3. Leonor is an easily recognizable watermelon when opened, thanks to its red color Intense, offering a great internal quality. Its meat is crispy, it does not release water when cutting it and has a high content in degrees Brix at the moment of the cut, offering a very sweet flavor.

In the area of melon, a remarkable novelty is the Jacobo variety, of the cantaloup type, which has a high fruit homogeneity, crisp meat with high Brix content and more flavor, very demanded in the market. In addition, Jacobo presents very good reticulate, with small pistilar closure.
In yellow melons, Fitó already has some international leadership with the varieties called Phoenician and Malerva, with which the customer who seeks taste and sweetness is never wrong.

Syngenta, a reference in mini triploid watermelons

Syngenta took advantage of its Demo Days Melon and Watermelon 2017, celebrated in Torre Pacheco to announce to producers, marketers and distribution its main novelties. Red Jasper and Kasmira stand out, two striped watermelons adapted to the national market as well as to the export market due to its excellent internal preservation, flavor, intense red color, meat quality and high production, which covers the whole cycle of production: from the early sowing in the greenhouse in Almería to the last sowing in the open air.

Red Jasper is a variety that responds very well in greenhouses and is being consolidated in Almeria very quickly. For its part, Kasmira offers the same characteristics of quality and production, but in seeding outdoors. Both are a winning combination for the entire chain, which can offer a quality and a constant supply of watermelon from March to September.

In the Demo Days we have also seen the impressive catalog of Syngenta in the watermelon market, with all kinds of varieties and commercial typologies, as well as the development of novelties in all segments. From watermelons minis sin semilla like Bibo, Dorin or Precious Petite or Master; Going through watermelons for the processing industry like Crisp Delight; Striped watermelons for the export market, which demands smaller calibres, such as Prestige, with excellent flavor and quality of meat, etc.

In the segment of the melon Syngenta has managed to be the reference of the national market in melon traditional high quality toad skin, with fruits that give you that explosion of taste, juiciness and aromas that the consumer likes and makes him repeat

In this sense, varieties such as Jimenado, Sancho, Batidor, Iberico, Velasco, etc., are very well known by farmers and consumers. However, there is a segment of the market in clear growth that demands a melon with a traditional flavor and aroma, but with firmer meat and more endurance in the consumer’s home. Syngenta is responding to these new demands and launches this campaign Airen, a skin of toad that offers that firmness of meat and good postharvest that demands the market with flavor and aromas. A variety that perfectly responds to a new type of consumers and completes the whole range of traditional melon. Along with Airén another variety of toad skin, the MP5344, is already underway, with the same characteristics and will help to complete the production cycles of this type of outdoor melon, suitable for earlier transplants.

In melon also showed the entire catalog of varieties in the different typologies, both for the national market and international. Thus, you could see toad skin more adapted to the area of Murcia as Armero or Dominio; Canary yellow cane like Party (marketed under the Zeraim brand); Two new varieties of charpentais Arpón and Tazha, that are having an impressive reception in France, etc.

Seminis, excellent varieties for export

Another seed breeder who does not want to be left behind in this career in the melon and watermelon sector is Seminis, in its quest for quality and flavor to respond with guarantees to export markets. In this sense, this year has premiered cantaloupe melon, under the name Sugarlup: precocious, highly identifiable cut point and a great conservation.

To this must be added the Melon Chester yellow, an early cycle variety that presents high performance and exceptional taste

In Galia variety, Seminis is committed to SV5133MG, which solves the problem of taste in European markets and is resistant to the yellowing virus, making it a unique product in the market

Complete the catalog for export Fenway seedless black watermelon, available to all producers, showing a high reliability in terms of production, quality and flavor in the markets.

Varieties of Sakata melon for the whole cycle

On the other hand, Sakata Seed Ibérica also works to offer to the farmers melons of quality, for that reason its main objective is the obtaining of varieties where prime the flavor, the consistent meat, the good post harvest and the small calibres for the export market, qualities appreciated by both consumers and distribution chains.

Thus, this year Sakata has introduced three new varieties of Toad Skin that allows to complete a range in which the public can consume high quality fruit throughout the year. The first of them is Grand Infinity, ideal for transplants in greenhouse and outdoors in Murcia. It stands out for having a great flavor even when the weather conditions can be adverse. The second is Grand Rivero, the variety for medium sowing of Murcia, which is characterized by a beautiful presentation combined with tasty and juicy meat. And the third, is designed for the export market, it is Miguelito, a variety of small caliber (whose fruits are around 1.5 kg to 2.5 kg), with very consistent meat and high sugar level.

Also, in 2015 Sakata introduced to the market Grand Riado, a variety with a very positive balance, mainly in La Mancha. This has allowed to complete the cycle of plantation of La Mancha, where already were Don Quixote and Cordial.

With this wide range of varieties, Sakata ensures that it can supply the same quality of fruit throughout the year, with some common characteristics: flavor, high level of Brix, consistent meat and a very good post harvest, without importing the área of production of the melon and the date of production

In the next few years, Sakata will present new varieties of sapling leather of small caliber and with a differentiating format, where the flavor and texture of the meat will continue to prevail.