Between 3 and 5 July, Sakata Seed Ibérica celebrated the first edition of the “Open Days Cucurbits” in the Region of Murcia, with melons, pumpkins and watermelons in the spotlight.
During the three days of the event, more than 200 professionals have had the chance to learn about the commercial and pre-commercial varieties of these crops in field visits. Moreover, there has been an exhibition and tastings of fruits in different formats, including fresh cut and processed.
For melons, the exhibition was divided into Piel de Sapo, Charentais, Yellow and Cantaloupe. The new Grand Cortés variety, a Piel de Sapo with a very high vigour for the September-October campaign, and the Festival, a very sweet Cantaloupe, ideal for Almeria's early plantings, were officially presented. In the pumpkin segment, several butternut varieties were showcased together with the Spaghetti, Menina brasileira and Potimarron. The Ariel and Pluto are the most noteworthy butternut varieties for export. Regarding watermelons, diploid crimson and triploid varieties were exhibited, with the Podium being the most attractive early triploid. All this was showcased at the Sakata research and development station, located in Dolores de Pacheco.
On 4 July, in addition to the field visits and exhibition of varieties, three presentations were held with a strong focus on market trends in the sector. Javier Bernabéu, manager of Sakata Seed Ibérica, opened the event with an introduction on the development of innovation in the horticultural sector, specifically, in the area of seeds and plant improvement. Next, Sara Rodríguez, client director at Kantar World Panel, gave a presentation on fruit and vegetable consumption trends in Europe, with a focus on the cucurbit family, making some predictions about the future of the sector. For his part, Christian Thromas, Cucurbits Product Manager at Sakata Vegetable Europe, and Joaquín Navarro, Cucurbits Promoter at Sakata Seed Ibérica, gave the final presentations, dealing with Sakata's bet on varietal improvement in cucurbitaceous crops, with the strategic axis being the search for "global" solutions and the development of varieties with resistances. The event was closed with a lunch, with dishes featuring melons, watermelons and pumpkins in the menu.
With this event, Sakata Seed Ibérica shows its commitment to the melon, watermelon and pumpkin segments, crops in which it is investing a lot of effort in research and development. The objective is to offer added value to the market, with a focus on flavour.