November 2021 - 14

SEED SHOWCASE
Rijk Zwaan USA breeding for sustainability
Located in the Salinas Valley of
California, Rijk Zwaan USA continues
to produce, develop and sell vegetable
seeds. With nearly 60 employees
throughout the U.S. and Canada, Rijk
Zwaan USA is committed to innovative
vegetable breeding and focusing on
protecting resources through sustainable
practices to provide healthy and
appealing vegetables for the consumer.
The demand for organic vegetables is
rising worldwide and Rijk Zwaan USA
is increasing its variety portfolio to
meet this demand. Products such as red
gem lettuce variety Cardaine RZ offers
robust resistances, which are suitable
for organic production. Spinach variety
Sunangel RZ offers broad resistance
to downy mildew, requiring fewer
fungicides in the field. Sunangel RZ
is part of a new wave of products that
are also fit for hydroponic production
methods that yield well, leading to
higher productivity for growers. These
and many other varieties, in turn, allow
Rijk Zwaan to provide more innovative
healthy vegetables for all markets.
Offering better products that reduce
food waste and better shelf life for
foodservice, retailers, growers and
are better for the consumer and the
FLORENCE RZ
environment inspired Rijk Zwaan to
develop new kale variety Karillo RZ.
Named Best Product Promo: Chef's
Edition at PMA Foodservice, Karillo
RZ has a sweet taste and tender bite
to the stem, making it more attractive
for the consumer and decreasing waste
and preparation time for foodservice
professionals. Multipurpose Crunchy
Lettuce variety Guayabita RZ provides
consumers a compact grab-and-go
single-use head for individual salads and
cup-style leaf for a healthy, vitamin-rich
GUAYABITA RZ
substitute for chips or tortilla wraps.
Increasing efficiencies and addressing
current labor shortages, Rijk Zwaan
developed white cauliflower variety
Florence RZ to provide nearly 85%
harvestability in the first pass, decreasing
the need from an already restricted
labor force. Developing varieties for
mechanical harvesting such as pickling
cucumber Gershwin RZ offers growers
increased yields, minimizing labor
inputs and waste, and freeing pollinators
for other pollinated crops.
Over the next several years, Rijk
Zwaan expects to screen, select and
develop more sustainable varieties that
are resilient, resistant and meet the needs
of a growing population. Recent trials
and plantings from our research farms in
the U.S. and Canada have identified elite
lines in various crops and include:
Cardaine RZ is a red gem lettuce
variety with very dark color and
contains the Knox trait for longer
shelf life. Cardaine RZ offers robust
resistance package which is suitable for
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November 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2021
