October 2019 - 29

ORGANIC
Vitalis Organic Seeds celebrates 25 years
By Erica Renaud
Regional Business Manager
Vitalis Organic Seeds, North America
Vitalis was founded in 1994 by
breeder Jan Velema in The Netherlands.
Vitalis Organic Seeds, the organic
division of Enza Zaden, is an organic
seed production and breeding company.
Since entering the U.S. and Canadian
markets in 2007, Vitalis has become a
supplier of organic vegetable and herb
seed in North America. The company's
Salinas-based sales team directly serves
the needs of lettuce growers in the
Salinas Valley, while its regional sales
representatives work in conjunction
with select regional organic seed
dealers to serve the needs of open field,
high tunnel and heated greenhouse
growers in all other areas.
As both pioneer and innovator
in organic seed breeding, Vitalis is
committed to a closed-loop organic
agriculture system that starts with the
highest quality organic seed, free of
contaminants and adapted to the needs
of diverse agro-ecological climatic
conditions. Globally, Vitalis produces
nearly 500 certified organic varieties
distributed in over 35 countries,
ensuring regional adaptation of
premium genetics through 12 local
research stations around the world.
For the U.S. and Canada, Vitalis
produce more than 150 certified
organic varieties, including vegetables
and culinary herbs, all of which are
regionally adapted through selections
performed at research stations, in
Myakka, Florida and San Juan Bautista,
California. Researchers at these stations
work with local growers, market
experts and the global Vitalis research
operation to provide the U.S. and
Canadian markets with the most diverse
and highest quality certified-organic
vegetable and herb assortment available.
New varieties for 2019
* An assortment of certified
organic baby leaf arugula, lettuce
and spinach including the new
varieties Anastazia' arugula and
Sycamore green tango babyleaf
lettuce with downy mildew and
aphid resistance.
* A diverse variety assortment of
lettuces by type, with the most
advanced resistance packages,
now including several new
EazyLeaf one-cuts including
Burgandy, Molokai and Boynton.
* An expanded zucchini program
offering an assortment of
green, yellow and romanesco
varieties, and featuring Cash
Machine, a new medium green
variety, best adapted to East
Coast growing conditions
* A broader assortment of onions,
now including more yellow and
red short and intermediate day,
including Gabriella, Cabernet,
The Vitalis Organic Seeds product development team for Arizona, from left, Jeff Ramirez, Antonio Valdez and Daniel Gerardo.
Photos: Vitalis Organic Seeds
Madalyn' and Monastrell.
* An innovative breeding and
diversity of assortment in
culinary herbs, including
basil, dill, chives and parsley -
including the new intermediate
resistant downy mildew basil
variety Emma - best adapted for
potted herb production.
* Select new semi-determinate
open field tomato varieties
including Winterhaven,
Suwanee 140 and SunFresh
tomatoes, all with adaptability to
the Southeast region.
* New innovations of traditional
types featuring strong
agronomic performance and
excellent flavor, including
Striped Eggplant Annina,
Marmande tomato Marsalato,
and Tuscan melon Iperione.
Vitalis Organic Seeds believes in
building organic production systems
with organically produced seed.
Vitalis supplies certified organic
seed as well being a breeder and seed
producer of vegetable and herb varieties
for organic agriculture. There is no
other comparable professional seed
company invested in breeding and
producing certified organic seed for the
professional grower.
The USDA National Organic Program
Organic Seed Regulatory Citation 205.204
Seeds and Planting Stock Standard
encourages growers to use 100% organic
seed for their organic production systems,
which Vitalis supports:
* By breeding and producing seeds
in organic production systems.
* By ensuring that the resulting
varieties have the highest genetic
and purity standards in the
marketplace.
" We believe in building organic
production systems with organically
produced seed, " said Jean-Francois
Ambassador for the
organic sector
Vitalis actively participates in policy dialogue to help protect the integrity
of the organic seal and fortify the continued growth of the organic sector.
Here are the issues and opportunities the company worked on recently:
National Organic Standards Board proposals about the appropriate
use of new plant breeding techniques in varietal development for organic
agriculture, and seed use guidance for criteria and goal setting in
strengthening organic seed usage.
American Seed Trade Association Organic Committee co-chair,
through which Vitalis educates and promotes the development of a formal
organic seed sector.
Organic Seed Alliance Board of directors and planning support of the
biannual Organic Seed Growers Conference.
Organic Trade Association member, with active involvement in
the Organic Seed Committee and funding support of the GRO Organic
Campaign.
Oregon Organic Council Board of directors representative.
Canadian Organic Regime proposal on organic seed usage and
treatments.
Mexico Organic Commission support of national organic regulation
and guidelines for organic seed usage including participation in the
Mexican Sanitary, Food Safety and Food Quality National Service organic
regulatory review.
ASTA Mexico Working Group, Border Workshops, Mexican Seed
Trade Association and OTA Mexico Working Group on strategic processes
to import a broader assortment of organic seed.
Thomin, Vitalis Seeds marketing
manager. " Conventionally produced
seed cannot be used to fully accomplish
the goals of organic agriculture, based
on subjection of the seeds to chemicalbased
inputs including synthetic
fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. "
" Vitalis seeds are the product of
organic production techniques that
work with biological systems such as
crop rotation, intercropping, organic
fertilization, natural pest control and
mechanical cultivation for weed control
to manage organic seed production, "
Thomin said.
Organic agriculture differentiates
itself from conventional production
systems through its utilization of
natural systems to manage crop
production. Organic agriculture
is thereby reliant on symbiotic
relationships between micro-organisms
See VITALIS, page 14
VGN | OCTOBER 2019 | 13

October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2019