Semillas Fitó turns Murcia into a reference center for pepper improvement

The Region of Murcia has become one of the reference centers of Semillas Fitó worldwide for the development of pepper varieties, especially in the segments of California and Lamuyo. Thus, the Campo de Cartagena concentrates the company's main varietal improvement programs in pepper and in recent campaigns, positive results are already being seen with leading commercial varieties such as Rio Grande in Lamuyo or Maestral, in California.

This bet of Fitó for the Region of Murcia has meant doubling in recent years the area dedicated to the pepper varietal improvement, logically expanding the technical staff dedicated to these issues, as well as the budgetary investment in phytopathological tests and in genetics.

Adapted to the Region

The result of this R&D effort are varieties such as Rio Grande, presented last season that has been developed in the Cartagena Field with pre-commercial trials since 2014. Rio Grande is a large caliber, consistent, with thick walls and four well-formed, productive hulls, with very high plant health and that characteristic red color of this type of peppers. The success of Rio Grande is based on the philosophy of the R&D programs of Semillas Fitó, which seek to respond to the needs of farmers and the demands of distribution: we are facing a variety that responds to what the consumer asks (a large, consistent pepper with a very good color) and that gives profitability to the farmer (more plant health, more production and a GGG and GG size pepper,

Another example of this program is the California Maestral, a perfect variety for the entire crop cycle in Murcia, both for organic and conventional cultivation, which has a very compact and early plant, which accumulates production during the first two months of harvest. Maestral has a very complete resistance package and produces G-gauge fruits throughout the cycle, with very good post-harvest. In the Muyo, the Rio Bravo variety should also be mentioned, which offers plant health, quality and size but in medium and late sowing.

Looking ahead, Semillas Fitó continues to develop various pepper varietal improvement programs in the Cartagena Field looking for varieties that are resistant to diseases such as powdery mildew, bacteriosis or virosis (tmv, tswv, pvy, etc.) and to pests (nematodes, aphids, etc.). It also works on varieties adapted to climate change, which require less fertilizers or those that adapt to fatigued soils without disinfecting, etc.

For professional farmers in the Region of Murcia, this commitment by Fitó is crucial for the future as it ensures them to have pepper varieties developed and tested in their same agronomic conditions and, therefore, perfectly adapted to their needs.

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