Good expectations for Syngenta's new green pepper Overture

First on the tour’s list was Apartus. In the nursery the pepper was sown on 5 November and planted on 7 December. From the start the production was coarse and it held on during the summer, but from week 30 a marked decline in coarseness became visible through a peak in the fruit weight. During this period there was also a higher percentage of class two sorting. "During the first setting it was too cold," says Bruinen. "We started with full days of 22 degrees and stuck with that until the first setting. Afterwards we dropped to a daily temperature of 18 to 16 degrees in the night and it was too cold. At our other location we scaled back on temperature and that has worked out well.”

Next on the agenda was a visit to nursery C & R Vijverberg. Vijverberg has sown early (19 October) and planted early as well (November 15). The first setting looked fine. "But in week nine the dark weather interfered. The plant was empty and then the light came back. When there was no stopping it," says Rolf Vijverberg. In the course of the season, the average fruit size remained coarse.