"The Italian industry tomato sector is going through a strong crisis due to the drought that has reached dramatic peaks in the south of the country," reported Andrea Restuccia, Solanaceae Product Manager at Med Hermes, an Italian seed company that boasts extensive experience in the production of hybrids for the industrial and fresh markets.
The Med Hermes team at the presentation event
"Transplanted surfaces are showing a drastic reduction in north Puglia. For 2025, cultivated areas could drop from the historical 18 thousand hectares in southern Italy to 12 thousand. Obviously, we are waiting for the weather to confirm this unfortunate trend. It would be about -30%, i.e. a clear sign of the inability of producers to guarantee ordinary irrigation standards. Recently, we held a varietal presentation event in Foggia dedicated precisely to the Apulian territory, bearing in mind that Italy (5.3 million tonnes) is the third largest producer of industry tomatoes in the world, after China (10 million tonnes) and California (USA) (9 million tonnes). The meeting revolved around the topic of the water crisis, which has been plaguing the entire district, and the northern Foggia basin in particular, for years."
Forentum F1
After some lively speeches from operators, who stigmatized the management of the area's water basin, the event proceeded with the presentation of the results achieved with the oblong tomato variety Forentum F1. A selection that did well all over the area over the past campaigns, and that is preparing to play a leading role in the 2025 campaign as well.
Forentum F1
A number of historical producers in the Lesina, Apricena, and San Severo areas, who switched from small-scale trials with the mono-variety Forentum F1 in 2021 to extensive cultivation, confirmed the success of this tomato.
"It was the producers themselves who confirmed the positive characteristics of the variety starting with the quality of the berries, which boast a deep red color, high productivity, and a leaf coverage that guarantees the integrity of the fruit until harvest. On this occasion, we also presented the brand new line of processing tomatoes (under development) with prismatic, oblong, and specialty tomato varieties in the cherry and plum segments. These varieties, some with resistance to the double strain of TSWV, will be the subject of demo fields during the 2025 campaign, and we expect to have them commercialized by the beginning of the 2026 campaign."
Francesco Savarino
Another highlight of the technical meeting was industry peppers, with the two new commercial varieties Minotauro (Red) and Tellus (Yellow). Both products are resistant to TSWV and TMV 0-3 and withstand climatic stress conditions well. They have a regular shape, good longitudinal length, and excellent specific weight, thanks to the significant wall thickness that also gives the fruit an excellent LSL.
A moment during the Forentum F1 presentation
Finally, Cucurbitaceae Product Manager Francesco Savarino presented the melon and watermelon range, which attracted the attention of the audience with the Minerva and Ecuba netted melons. Both varieties boast an excellent LSL and are red-fleshed. Ecuba is also suitable for late transplanting and keeps its size within commercial limits. The yellow melon Hator, suitable for early and medium transplants, was also presented. Lastly, the characteristics of seedless watermelons Amaranta (Crimson-skinned Mini) and Bellota (Black-skinned Midi), suitable for medium and late transplants in tunnels and open fields, were also illustrated.
Alfredo Amoroso
A large number of interested visitors attended - farmers, technicians, nurserymen, and traders from the area and from outside the region joined the Med Hermes Vegetable Seeds technicians to appreciate the goodness of the new products on offer, with a special focus on tomatoes and industrial peppers. Med Hermes Vegetable Seeds has renewed its commitment to the territory with an increasingly wide and complete varietal offer at the service of the national, and Apulian production sector in particular. Proof of this is the fact that the General Manager Alfredo Amoroso presented the renewed team featuring the Head of Research and Development for Southern Italy, the agronomist Amedeo Fasano, and the Sales Manager for the provinces of Foggia-Bari-BAT and East Potenza, the agronomist Giovanni De Matteis.
For more information:
Andrea Restuccia
Med Hermes Vegetable Seeds
S.P. 25 Ragusa/M. di Ragusa Km 5,950
97100 Ragusa - IT
+39 0932 669031
[email protected]
www.medhermes.net
