Breedx recently hosted its first tomato open day for Israeli growers, offering a technical view into the company's breeding priorities, greenhouse evaluation systems, and expanding international footprint. The event took place at Breedx's demo greenhouse in Israel, where growers from across the country were invited to observe commercial-stage material, and side-by-side comparisons with control varieties.
"It was a very successful day from our perspective: very colourful and very productive," shares Yaron Giras, Commercial Manager for the North American market at Breedx.
The Israeli facility functions as both a demo greenhouse and an active breeding site. According to Yaron, the company uses similar hybrid facilities in Spain and is preparing a demo greenhouse in the Netherlands to support European growers. "It's a combination of demo and breeding facility, where we can show our programmes and our portfolio," he explained, adding that customers from Europe and beyond are regularly invited to visit.
Israel was selected deliberately as the primary breeding location. "Israel is a hot country and getting warmer," says Noa Rona, Tomato Breeder at Breedx. "The climate pressure here helps us select varieties that can perform under high temperatures and other stress conditions and still deliver quality."
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Taste as a breeding target
Breedx's tomato programme places flavour and eating experience at the centre of selection decisions. "In many breeding programmes, taste is checked only at the end," she says. "Here, we always check flavour and taste, even though it means more time, more lines, and more selection cycles."
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The company collaborates with researchers from Israel's Volcani Institute to integrate naturally occurring genes that influence sugar composition and acid balance. "We know how to change the sugar profile and the ratio of acids and sugars. We want to change the taste from the genetics of the fruit, not by telling the grower to stress the plant or change irrigation."
This approach is designed to address a growing industry challenge: reduced sugar accumulation under high temperatures. "When it's very hot, the fruit turns red faster and doesn't have time to build sugars," Noa explains. "By adjusting the sugar profile and adding, for example, more fructose, we can still get a tasty tomato even when the climate is very warm."
All breeding is conducted using conventional methods. "It's completely traditional breeding," she emphasizes. "No gene editing."
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Resistance under high disease pressure
Disease resistance is another core selection criterion, particularly against ToBRFV. "That's why we breed only in the south of Israel," Noa notes. "There is very high virus pressure there." "We see very strong field resistance compared with control varieties in the same greenhouse."
Control varieties were included in the demo greenhouse to allow growers to evaluate yield, fruit quality, and resistance performance side by side. "You want to see yield, and you want to see good quality."
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Portfolio diversity for greenhouse systems
The portfolio focuses on small to medium-sized specialty tomatoes with sizes ranging from approximately 10 grams to 100 grams, including mini, midi, and roma types. "Colours include red, chocolate, light chocolate, and striped types with green or yellow markings", Ziva Razon shares, Marketing Manager at Breedx.
"We have a very diverse portfolio," Lior Carmeli, CEO of Breedx, adds. "And all of them have this special taste, even the larger roma types, which is something you usually don't find."
Texture and flavour profiles are also deliberately varied. "We don't have just one flavour," Ziva adds. "We have crunchy types, softer types, more acidic, sweeter, all different eating experiences."
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Grower feedback and global outlook
Grower response at the open day focused primarily on taste and overall eating quality. "The "wow" responses when eating our crunchy varieties were enough," Yaron says, "and they are people who taste a lot of tomatoes. That gave us confidence that we are on the right path."
From a commercial perspective, Breedx is already testing the same portfolio across North America. Yaron shares that trials are underway in Mexico, Canada, the U.S., and parts of Central America and the Caribbean. "Every place is different: greenhouse structure, climate, market needs, but good varieties bring worldwide success," he said.
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Breedx does not promote a single universal growing recipe. "It's very challenging to develop one recipe that fits all," Lior notes. Instead, the company partners with experienced growers and provides regional agrotechnical support through teams in Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy.
Looking ahead, Breedx plans to expand its demo network and continue multi-location trials before commercial launches. "We are selecting now in Israel, but we also validate in Spain, Italy, Mexico, and North America before we move forward."
The team will be attending Fruit Logistica in Berlin early in 2026, and invites attendees to schedule appointments with them.
To schedule appointment with Lior Carmeli, CEO of Breedx, during Fruit Logistica 2026, click:
calendly.com/info-breedx/introduction-meeting
For more information:
Breedx
Ziva Razon, Marketing & Sales Manager: Europe
[email protected]
www.breedx.com
