ST. LOUIS, MO - When presented with challenges, the produce industry uses innovation and ingenuity to conquer them. This is exactly what Vegetables by Bayer has done as the company announced the commercialization of two new beef tomatoes with tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) resistance: Ferriera and Novero.
“Greenhouse growers need tomato varieties they can count on—that means having good disease packages without sacrificing strong yields and premium quality of fruits,” said Stephanie Poletti, Protected Culture Marketing Lead, Vegetables by Bayer. “At Bayer, we work with growers to identify their biggest challenges—like ToBRFV—and use our strong research and development and breeding program to bring them solutions that work best for them as quickly as possible. Ferreira and Novero are two great examples of that.”
Vegetables by Bayer through De Ruiter® have launched these varieties to help growers mitigate risk, protect their crop’s marketability, and provide new solutions in their fight against the disease, a release stated. ToBRFV is a major ongoing threat to growers as it transmits easily, decimates crops, and is difficult to eradicate.
Both Ferreira and Novero have intermediate resistance to ToBRFV. They are early-fruiting beef tomatoes hybrids that have high yield potentials, a bold red color, and are suitable for both fall plantings as well as year-round environments.
Ferreira has an average fruit weight of 250–260 g and Novero has an average fruit weight of 240–250 g, allowing growers to select which variety best suits their needs. With good plant coverage, both are widely adaptable across North America and Mexico.
“Variety resistance, fruit quality, setting, and yield are the main factors when growing and selecting the right crop for us growers, and these past years it has been hard to successfully grow tomatoes due to ToBRFV,” commented Mario Perez, a grower for AMCO Produce. “Ferreira and Novero have shown a very promising future to those of us who are looking for a solution—not just a patch—to ToBRFV resistance in varieties. The plant vigor, fruit quality, and plant health were all very good.”
As Vegetables by Bayer unveils more innovative varieties, AndNowUKnow will report the latest updates.
