They stand out Jimenado, Velasco or Mendoza in melon and Trix Paula in watermelon

More than 60 professionals of the production and commercialisation of melon and watermelon, of the main producing zones of Spain, assisted the past 15 July in Murcia to the Syngenta Cucurbits Forum. In this working time could know the results of the essays of field of the new and more interesting varieties of melon and watermelon of Syngenta, as well as the solutions of the company for strategies of integrated cheese cheese production, and other appearances like the analyses of the quality of the fruit or the market trends.

Producers and trading companies of Murcia, Castile-La Mancha, Almería, Under Ebro or Valencia attended to The Fortresses (Murcia) to know at first hand the global offer of Syngenta for the segment of melon and watermelon, so much in leading varieties to commercial level, as in solutions for treatments and biological fight in these crops. To them they added commercial technicians and distributors of the company, that converted the day in a very fruitful exchange of information and knowledges to improve between all the profitability and quality of the crops. The day divided in two very differentiated parts: in the morning, the visit in two groups to the fields of essay of melon and watermelon delivered for the zone of La Palma (Murcia) and, in the afternoon, the technical and practical sessions.

More than 60 professionals attended to the day of Syngenta on the melon and the watermelon.

Beginning by the varieties of melon, in the visit could check to where goes the improvement in Syngenta in this segment, looking for the quality of the fruit in all the process, ensuring a good poscosecha and looking for the maximum level of resistance to different illnesses, between which stands out in these moments the resistance of the plant to the oídio. In this sense, José Morellá, director of the portafolio of melon of Syngenta, stood out the high quality of the varieties that are despuntando in Murcia, like Jimenado (early), Almeza (half) and Pinzón (late) or of the new resistant varieties to oídio like the MP-3300, or the destined to Castile-La Mancha, like Velasco (early, that is working also very well in Murcia) or Mendoza (late).

In concrete, stand out Jimenado like variety for early of crops protected, with a plant rustica and vigorosa of big ease of cuajado, with a fruit that gives high commercial and big performance quality gustativa and with high resistance to Fusarion and intermediate resistance to Oídio. Also stand out novelties like MP-3300, Velasco and Mendoza that present a high resistance to oídio, something very sued by the producers. Both varieties are, besides, highly resistant to fusarium, to the sifted of the melon (MNSV) and present an excellent behaviour post-harvest. In field could check how Velasco, that is a variety for free air in early cycles that is working very well in Castile-La Mancha, also is resulting excellent in the zone of Murcia, with high productions and an exceptional quality (could test melons with a perfect texture and more than 15 degrees brix). These varieties beside Almeza, Pinzón, Hilario, Sancho or Iberian, conform an offer stood out in the segment of melon.

In field checked the excellent quality of varieties like Jimenado, Velasco or Mendoza.

In the segment of watermelon could visit fields of essay with the successful variety Trix Paula and with the new lines of improvement of Syngenta. In this sense, Francisco Moral, director of the portafolio of watermelon of Syngenta, commented how is directing the improvement to a more precocious watermelon and very adapted agronómicamente, as well as to the development of watermelons type ‘Icebox', of 2,5 to 3 kg, that offer high quality and profitability for the agriculturalist. In field could see the quality and the high production of the watermelon Trix Paula (until 100.000 kg/has in this zone), planted in freamers of 1,5 metres between plants and 2 metres between lines, with a plant very vigorosa, with a lot of fruit by plant, that cuaja very well and that gives a watermelon with a sweet meat, of high quality and firmness, with very few and small edible white seeds, what favours a better conservation poscosecha. This type of watermelon is having a lot of success in the German and north market of Europe, where the black watermelon does not have exit.

The watermelon Trix Paula offers some very high productions and quality.

In the conferences that took place in the session of the afternoon could know other very important appearances to the hour of rentabilizar to the maximum the crop of melon and watermelon, speaking of controls of quality, tendencies of market or strategies of integrated cheese cheese production (ICS). In the first place, Pablo García, manager of the Laboratory of Control of Quality of Syngenta in The Ejido (Almería) gave a big practical lesson of how works in a laboratory of this type and the important that is to study well the parameters of quality of the different varieties to be able to improve and answer to the needs of the consumers. In the room mounted a ‘mini' laboratory in which it could see how measure and analyse parameters like the flavour, the colour, the texture, the aroma, the external appearance, etc. Some of these measurements can be very useful in field for the agriculturalists (exist devices and portable measurers that have to be used properly). In this moment, the technology advances to the measurements with infrared rays, that can be very useful since they do not damage the fruit.

The control of quality results basic of face to the consumer.

To level of tendencies of market, Luciano Fioramonti, Downstream Business Development Manager of the company, explained that to European level are realising a macro-study that fragmenta to the consumers in four groups: those that look for the price above all else (21% in Spain); the innovative that look for the last in the market (7%); those that know well the product and demand quality (49%) and those that act by suitability or comfort (23%). Syngenta Takes into account to all these segments of the market to the hour to develop new varieties, giving him to the producer a fan of options that go to be sued by the consumers. It is curious that did the same survey between the more than 60 assistants to the day and the result was practically identical to the average obtained in the survey to national level.

Finally, so much Luis Martín, responsible of ICS Vegetables Crop for Iberia, as Francisco José Rodríguez, Vegetables Crop Head for Iberia of Syngenta, stood out the important that is to have a company that give global solutions to the producers in a market each day more globalizado and more demanding. Syngenta Can offer to the chain of value agroalimentaria strategies of integrated cheese cheese production (ICS) that include seeds of high quality with resistances to the main viruses and illnesses; active ingredients and auxiliary fauna for an effective strategy of control and programs of handle integrated cheese cheese developed beside the agriculturalists. They exist already a lot of examples in Murcia and Almería that show how cooperative and big producers improve his processes and his standards of quality having a strategic partner like Syngenta.