On March 12, Planasa held its first Meet & Greet Field Day at its R&D center in Cartaya, in the Spanish province Huelva, where visitors from all continents attended to learn about the breeder's commercial strawberry, blueberry, raspberry and blackberry varieties, as well as the advanced selections that will soon be released, which they had a chance to try exclusively at the tastings organized.
The day started with a round of presentations of the work Planasa is doing for the development of its berry varieties. The first one was given by David Ortiz, General Manager of EMEA, who talked about Planasa's growth and milestones from its beginnings to the present day.
You can see photos of the event here
The event was possible thanks to the work of the entire Planasa team. In the photo, Sebastián Gómez, Carlos Pérez, Álvaro Gómez and Pieter Coetzee.
Kees Konst, Planasa's Chief Scientific Officer, outlined the fundamentals of the company's breeding activity, highlighting Planasa's commitment to innovation and to obtaining varieties with a greater resistance to pathogens, more efficient water consumption or better adapted to mechanized harvesting, thereby responding to the great challenges ahead for the soft fruit sector. Kees also highlighted the need to develop varieties specifically adapted to vertical cultivation in hydroponics, for which there's interesting potential for development.
Julián Rioja, Sales Manager of Planasa's Strawberry, Raspberry and Blackberry Nursery Iberia & Africa, talked about the availability of Planasa's strawberry, raspberry and blackberry varieties in different parts of the country and in different production periods. This presentation was followed attentively by the audience, who didn't want to miss the information on any of the slides.
Lastly, Manuel Garcés, sales manager for blueberries for the EMEA region, who also pointed to the importance of being able to offer supermarkets fruit all year round, outlined the characteristics of Planasa's blueberry varieties and offered some details about the advanced selections, which sparked a lot of interest in the tasting.
Dole representatives.
After the presentation, those attending the Meet & Greet Field Day went in groups to the greenhouses where many berry varieties are grown to see them first-hand.
During the visit to the blackberry greenhouses, they had a chance to see Planasa's advanced blackberry selections, with no thorns, high productivity and very high Brix levels (10-12 degrees), which also stand out for their long shelf life. These varieties are grown together with the well-known Black Sultana, currently cultivated in Morocco, Portugal and Mexico, where they are harvested all year round.
James Gregory and David Keelings, from Keelings.
As far as raspberries are concerned, the Pink Hudson, already grown in Spain and Morocco, has been added to Planasa's portfolio, which also features the Adelita, which is grown globally. Together with them, there will soon be new selections on the market such as the Plapink 16130, at an advanced stage of development and currently in the process of external trials for its commercial launch.
In the blueberry greenhouses, attendees from different countries and continents paid close attention to Planasa's varieties, which are being planted in more and more new territories. Some of the most recent ones where they have been introduced are Colombia, Egypt, Jordan and Italy.
Souad Loukili and Kees Konst, from Planasa.
During the visit, a lot was said about the high productivity of the varieties, as well as the quality of the fruit. The caliber of BlueMaldiva blueberries, recently awarded in the demanding Chinese market for their flavor and appearance, also caught people's attention.
Both the advanced blueberry selections and the strawberry ones later on received high praise at the tastings, especially for their flavor and firmness.
In short, Planasa's first Meet & Greet Field Day was a success, as agreed by all participants, who had the opportunity to get to know the company's varieties in depth, as well as to meet and get to know colleagues and customers from all over the world.