Nunhems innovates in lettuce and spinach to get closer to the consumer

Nunhems , a subsidiary of horticultural seeds of BASF, celebrates from February 10 to 14 in Cartagena (Murcia) a new edition of its Lettuce and Spinach Demofield, in which it will show not only its novelties in the different types of lettuce and spinach, but also its commitment to provide value to the final consumer with the launch of new concepts in sheet. “We want to go one step further and not stay alone in the production company, but show the whole chain the variety and versatility of the different types of lettuce, proposing other ways to present and consume it,” explains Juan Pedro Pérez , Crop Sales Manager EMEA salads from BASF Vegetable Seeds .

The novelty in romaine lettuce is Magistral , a variety with which “we seek to increase the profitability of the crop,” says Carlos del Espino , lettuce specialist at BASF Vegetable Seeds . Thanks to its smaller size, homogeneity and weight, Magistral is a variety designed for high-density cultivation, thus increasing yields per hectare. In mini Roman , they present Winbee F1 (NUN 6549 F1), a recommended spring material with high resistance to tip burn. In this sense, Del Espino advances that work to complete the cycle with a new variety for winter.

In Little Gem , NUN 6806 F1 is the new Nunhems® material for winter, a variety for commercialization in the heart segment. With it, the subsidiary of horticultural seeds of BASF complements Thicket F1 and Thespian F1 , two very versatile and rustic varieties with which it completes the crop cycle and consolidates as a reference in this typology. All of them have resistance to mildew and aphid.

More quality at Iceberg

It is the hallmark of the house and its great commitment in this segment, in which this campaign incorporates three novelties: NUN 1212 F1 , NUN 1228 F1 and NUN 1232 F1 , varieties for autumn, winter and spring, respectively. "With these materials we provide even more quality in terms of training, they are varieties adapted to mechanized harvesting thanks to their uniformity and, in addition, we improve postharvest," says Del Espino, who adds that they have resistance to mildew and aphid. In this way, Nunhems offers the sector varieties that improve yields per hectare.

These three varieties add to Melosa F1 , which has shown great adaptation to summer crops, with excellent behavior against bolting and tip burn in extreme conditions, and Goldiva F1 , with excellent behavior in January collections, thanks to its Good training, size and endurance in the field, which allows a wide collection window.

Concepts for the consumer

Nunhems takes a leap in the lettuce market to reach the consumer by introducing new concepts that emphasize the clearly differentiating qualities of the varieties that hide behind them. Thus, with Themes F1 and Intred F1 , two Little Gem green and red , respectively, offers the chain the possibility of marketing these products in packs of two units, adding color to the traditional salad.

The NUN 06193 F1 and the NUN 06567 F1 are, in turn, two varieties that stand out for their sweeter taste, while with Agros , Nunhems proves to be next to the producer and the rest of the chain in the increasingly necessary mechanization in the collection.

But without a doubt its most revolutionary concept is Chef's Lettuce , designed to reach the Horeca channel. With Greenglace or Rubyglace , among others, Nunhems provides different types of sheets for different sandwich formats. The wrap is, on the other hand, a lettuce whose leaves are spoon-shaped and can be used as a base for different hot and cold toppings. Crispol F1 is one of the varieties included in this concept.

“We have the product, now we want to provide ideas and suggestions on how to use it in the kitchen,” says Juan Pedro Pérez.

Spinach

Nunhems is one of the great references in this crop, for which he is betting decisively. Fruit of this work is the wide range of varieties that make up its catalog, and that has already consolidated materials such as Hydrus F1 or Alcor F1 , with which it allows to have spinach throughout the year. Among its novelties are Formax F1 , Sculptur F1 and Crater F1 , varieties that stand out for their high quality. From the agronomic point of view, they have all resistance to mildew (1-17) and high tolerance to leaf spot. In this way, Nunhems reaffirms its commitment to the sector and continues to work with producers to develop solutions together to the important challenges facing this growing crop.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in Spanish. This English summary has been prepared with Google Translate and edited for clarity.