For Enza Zaden, the asparagus market is a new market to penetrate. After years of development and testing in practical fields, the new asparagus variety Daleza (E225W.004) is the first variety to be launched by Enza Zaden.
But how did Daleza come about? Michel explains: “Enza Zaden's wish to also participate in the asparagus market was very clear to the R&D and Sales departments. We have mapped out where a new hybrid can add something extra to the market. The starting point for breeding therefore is always the demand from the market. As a grower you have to deal with this every day and you also know what the customers are asking for. We looked for improvements in the field of uniformity, earliness and a variety that must fit well in keeping labor costs manageable. After testing at various locations, we saw that Daleza has the right properties to respond to these factors.”
Daleza financially interesting
Paul Huijs, Sales Manager at Enza Zaden, explains: “The benefits of Daleza are diverse. In the trials we looked at earliness, quality and average stem weight and linked this to the financial aspects such as weekly prices and harvest costs. Because Daleza is early in production and immediately has a high stem weight, this ensures direct yields of financial benefits for the grower. Daleza has a strong and open crop, which ensures good recovery capacity. ”
Expertise Enza Zaden
Sales Director for Germany and France, Christof Flörchinger, indicates; “We may be new to the asparagus market, but we are a leader when it comes to breeding. We have extensive knowledge of the technical part of breeding, we know how the market works and understand the wishes of our customers.”
Flörchinger emphasizes that this is the perfect combination to promote the supply of asparagus on the market.“ Daleza is the result of traditional breeding methods. Enza Zaden uses modern technologies in the field of breeding and can therefore also use this broad expertise from other crops to accelerate and create a broad foundation within asparagus breeding,” he explains. “On the other hand, we have specialists who understand and know the asparagus market through and through. This allows us to distinguish ourselves from the rest.”
The consumer and the asparagus
The mid to early harvest Daleza is rolled out primarily in the German, BeNeLux and French markets.
Christof Flörchinger: “Asparagus is a very popular product in the, French, German and Dutch kitchen. The consumer also makes an effort to buy this product and it is characteristic that a lot is bought “ab hof” or so to say “from the farmer”. With Daleza we respond well to this demand because the variety has a good taste and is available early in the season. As a result, people come back to buy it again.
In short, the Daleza promises to be a good addition to the asparagus range and a nice extension of the Enza Zaden breeding programs.
For more information:
Enza Zaden
Email: communications@enzazaden.nl
www.enzazaden.nl/uk