Enza Seeds cooperates with Cuba in seed development

70 percent of research time is spent on seeds, a sphere that demands a lot of study and trials. (Image Credit: Pixabay)

A wide cooperation in the Horticultural Research Institute Liliana Dimitrova in Cuba with the Dutch company Enza Seeds, aimed at the development of tomato seeds and other fruits, was made on April 22.

The representative of that firm for the Caribbean, Ange Mangeri, present at the First National Seed Fair, told Prensa Latina that for more than 14 years they have initiated a cooperation program regarding the technology of protected crops.

This collaboration includes the expert advice of Enza Seeds in the domain of this technology and in the introduction, testing, and evaluation of new crops of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants, onions, and lettuce.

Ange Mangeri said that in a short time it was possible to advance in new hybrids of tomatoes and peppers that became widespread throughout the country due to their good behavior in the face of climatic conditions and resistance to different diseases that limited their production.

Mangeri acknowledged that in Cuba there is significant knowledge in the integrated fight against pests and the use of biological means to control various pathogens, as well as biofertilizers that nourish or stimulate plantations is frequent.

He noted that Cuban specialists have received training and training courses at the company, which recently donated a packaging machine for millions of seeds, installed in the capital.

Without seeds there is no agricultural production, said Mangeri, who explained that 70 percent of research time is spent on seeds, a sphere that demands a lot of study and trials and in which one should not improvise since cheap is expensive, he maintained.

At the fair, which ends today at the Rancho Boyeros Exhibition Site, more than 40 lectures were given by specialists from the research institutions of the Ministry of Agriculture and centers that study and develop seeds belonging to other organisms.

The event has among its fundamental objectives the promotion of a knowledge culture of seeds, in order to increase agricultural yields, and in which 280 exhibitors and producers participated.