This year, the appearance of new calibres and presentations has confirmed the leadership that Bayer's horticultural subsidiary has in the global watermelon market, as demonstrated during the Business Event for Experts that took place on Thursday and Friday of last week in El Ejido. Quality, along with the range in the number of options available, remains the common denominator. "The Nunhems watermelon team can take care of any market situation thanks to a wide range of varieties and calibres that are suitable for any consumer profile and alway guarantee an unbeatable internal quality," affirms Mercedes Fernández, watermelon specialist at Vegetable Seeds Bayer.
Also surprising has been the development in the external quality of the range of triploid watermelons, colloquially known as seedless. Now, a somewhat darker external appearance is breaking into the market for the first time and helping the consumer differentiate Nunhems' varieties. With this visual change in the external appearance, Bayer is setting a new quality standard to ensure customer loyalty. In this segment, the brand Nunhems has showcased varieties such as the Sun Gem F1 and Moon Gem F1, with calibres of between 5 and 7 kg per piece.
Suitable pollinators
Bayer's strong commitment to innovation has made it possible to present up to four pollinators that are especially suitable thanks to their high internal quality. Kaori F1 is a striped watermelon with mini seeds that follows the line started by Premium F1, but which offers slightly bigger calibres and a clear commercial vocation to meet the needs of any destination, both in the domestic market and for export. Another good example is Frilly F1, with a perfect calibre for the individual consumer profile, which is already attracting great interest from large distribution chains, because it adapts to European tastes. Also noteworthy are the NUN11501 WMW F1, with an external appearance like the Premium F1 and especially recommended for early cycles because of its calibre, or the NUN11403 WMW F1, with a weight per piece of 2 to 2.5 kilos and an external appearance of a black watermelon with an impeccable finish. With these varieties, the Nunhems brand is strengthening its strategic bet on pollinators with great commercial appeal, based on its own market studies, which have shown that the combination of triploid watermelon with a pollinator suitable for marketing improves the profitability and the return of the investment made by the producer.
Organic watermelons
At the Business Event for Experts of El Ejido, Bayer has shown a selection of varieties suitable for the organic market for the first time. They have a high productivity and have the most appropriate calibre for a market segment where it is sold by whole pieces and not by weight. These first samples of watermelons for organic production have aroused great interest among marketing companies specialised in this market, where there is a growing demand and great potential. Bayer has already launched an ambitious research plan for the genetic improvement of organic watermelons, which in the coming years will make it possible to obtain new varieties with the necessary agronomic characteristics to create new business opportunities in a market segment where the consumer appreciates quality over price.