Interview With Hazera Global Onion Product Manager
July 1, 2015 Onion is one of the most produced vegetable crops in the world. A lot of expertise is required to develop onion varieties that fulfil the needs of growers, processors, and consumers. Hazera, a major player in the worldwide onion market, has grown to occupy 12% of the world’s onion seed market within the last 10 years.
To shed some light on Hazera’s breeding efforts and its future research and development plans in the onion sector, Wim van der Heijden (VDH), Hazera’s global product manager for Root & Bulb crops, discusses several pertinent topics below.
What can you tell us about your history?
VDH: Hazera markets a whole range of vegetable crops, and onion is one of our largest, and a strategic crop. We’ve been investing in the research and development of high-performing hybrid onion varieties since 1974, particularly in the extra-long day segment (for regions at latitude above 50°) and the short-day segment (latitude up to 30°). With these hybrid varieties, we have achieved strong improvement of yields, quality, and new traits and characteristics for the benefit of growers, industry, and consumers.
When you say “quality,” what are you referring to?
VDH: To cite some examples: uniformity of the seeds to enable precision sowing, increase of the 1000-seeds-weight bringing more power to the seeds for more vigorous plants, several skin layers to protect the onion during processing and transport, and high dormancy preventing regrowth of the bulbs.
Another important detail is a round uniform shape that goes along with improved yields, facilitates harvesting and processing, and provides a more attractive product on the supermarket’s shelf. Another appreciated quality is flexibility: varieties that can be sown as well as transplanted and that can stand very different climatic conditions.
One of the most important improvements we have been working on is a higher firmness of the onion, making it suitable for long storage. Such an improvement takes hard work and a long breeding process. We’ve succeeded in that, and now we offer high-quality storable onions that also give high yields, like our varieties Centro and Dormo (extra-long day) or Taresco (long day). We offer [Centro and Dormo] not only in the extra-long day, but also in other types. We’re even introducing it now in the short-day type, for example in our red variety Neptune, and it’s quite promising.
What can you tell us about disease resistance?
VDH: We started to develop disease resistance back in 1986, and made considerable investments. A breakthrough was the introduction of high resistance to downy mildew, a devastating disease that can completely destroy harvests.
Our variety Santero offers this resistance and was very welcomed by organic growers who suffered from this disease. In anticipation of an increase in soil-borne disease pressure worldwide, we’ve developed varieties featuring resistance to pink root and Fusarium, such as Miss Scarlet, which we recently introduced.
Any additional traits you’re breeding for?
VDH: We’re also focused on breeding colored varieties. Next to the classic yellow onion, we’ve extended our range to red, pink, and even white onions. The highlight in this segment is Sivan, with a nice pink color, high reliability and flexibility for the grower, and a delicious mild taste for the consumer.
What growth has Hazera seen, and where do you see yourselves headed in the future?
VDH: In several segments and regions, we are now writing double-digit growth figures, not just compared to five years ago, but even with last year’s results.
Hazera currently holds the onion market leader position in a whole range of countries around the globe, such as Germany, Israel, Belarus, Saudi Arabia, the Dominican Republic, and Greece. Hazera is also gaining market share in Australia and New Zealand, countries for which it has been breeding intermediate-type varieties with high yield and long storability for export.
We’ll continue to invest extensively in research and in the development of innovations for markets worldwide. Yield and storability will continue to increase, and we’ll add improved earliness to the crop. We’ll bring new disease resistances for a healthier crop that can be grown with less chemicals.
Our set onions are also very promising. These are young prepared plants that are planted very early in the season for very early harvesting, enabling year-round supply and extending the zones where onions can be grown. From the year 2011, we’ve achieved double-digit growth in set onions.
More developments will be coming up from Hazera. One of the things that keeps us going is the appreciation we receive from the onion supply chain in all parts of the world.
For more information about Hazera and all products please visit: www.hazera.com.
Source: Hazera press release
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