De Lier, The Netherlands
October 29, 2012

For the past six weeks, Rijk Zwaan has been holding demo days at its facilities in Fijnaart and Opperdoes, The Netherlands. The annual international demo days for Brassica took place at the end of September, and last Friday marked the final day of the open field demo in Fijnaart.

“The fields in Fijnaart were in perfect condition, and we were able to present lots of novelties,’’ says trial field coordinator Arno van Oers. “Developments are moving particularly quickly in lettuce and spinach, for example, and we were able to tell visitors about new resistances and types. Because all customer visits to Fijnaart were by appointment only, we had enough time to take everyone on a personal guided tour – which our clients, many of whom had travelled from abroad, really appreciated!”

Due to the warm weather earlier in the year, a number of crops were already in an advanced stage of growth at the beginning of October. Since Rijk Zwaan wanted to present its crops when they were at their very best, the company recommended that customers should visit the demo field before 12 October. And in view of the high visitor numbers in early October, it is safe to say that many people paid heed to that advice.

“There is of course always room for improvement, but our demo days for open field crops represent an excellent concept and I’m expecting us to stick with this approach in the coming years,” continues Arno. “For now, it’s our top priority to respond to the questions and comments we’ve received from visitors. The demo days are behind us but they were just the start – it’s equally important to provide good follow-up!’’

While the demo days were underway in Fijnaart, Rijk Zwaan was also welcoming visitors to its facility in the north of The Netherlands. During the annual international demo days for Brassica in Opperdoes, held from 25 to 28 September, Rijk Zwaan displayed its commercial range of cauliflower and head cabbage for North-West Europe. Three Rijk Zwaan crop advisors were present for the duration of the event, ensuring that each and every visitor got the chance to talk to an expert. “The demo days have once again been a great success,’’ says Dick van Pelt, crop advisor from Rijk Zwaan Nederland. “Although the number of visitors remained about the same as last year, it’s the quality of visitors that counts, and that exceeded my expectations!’’

Rijk Zwaan is focused on developing high-quality vegetable varieties to be grown by the professional horticulture sector in greenhouses, tunnels and in crop fields. The company’s seeds are sold through 29 international subsidiaries and used in more than 100 different countries. Rijk Zwaan employs over 2.000 people and belongs to the top 5 of globally active vegetable breeding companies.

Website: http://www.rijkzwaan.nl

Published: October 29, 2012