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After many years of breeding, the new vegetable variety is finally ready to be launched onto the global market. And ready for large-scale seed production.
We produce seeds all over the world. In both the northern and southern hemispheres. This results in several production cycles within one year. So we can also respond rapidly to the demand of our local customers for our vegetable seeds.
We work closely with many professional producers all over the world for the production of our vegetable seed. Enza Zaden also has its own, strategically located production station in Tanzania. The favourable climatic conditions there allow year-round production cycles of vegetable seed. This makes it easier to cope with any extra demand for seeds. And we can introduce new varieties even faster!
The seeds have been produced, but what happens next? The majority of the vegetable seeds arrive at our head office in the Netherlands, Enkhuizen, for further processing. Ingenious machines and advanced techniques dry and sort the seeds, and remove soiling and abnormal seeds from the lots.
The seed is then ready for the final, meticulous quality inspection in our laboratory. We assess the germination capacity or power, varietal purity and health of the seed. Supported by highly advanced technology. Only top quality seed passes these inspections.
Certain treatments can boost the quality and reliability of some types of seed. For example, we ´pellet´ very small seeds to give them more body. This involves coating each seed with a thin layer of clay to create a pellet. This makes the seed easier to sow mechanically. In addition, the clay contains nutrients for the first phase of the seedling's development. And sometimes also products that protect the seedlings against pathogens in the vulnerable early phase.
What forms the foundation for successful crops? Vegetable seed of the highest possible quality. Healthy seeds, true to variety, reliable, easy to sow with a high germination rate and high yields. Our company also performs intensive research into new testing methods. Particularly for germination and seed health. This allows us to maintain and optimise the high quality of our vegetable seeds.
After processing and extensive inspections, the vegetable seeds are ready to be dispatched to our customers. We use advanced packaging machines to count and pack exclusively seed of the very best quality. Almost three million packets a year! They are sent to destinations all over the world. We export our seed to more than 110 countries, where subsidiaries and distributors forward it to our customers.