Grower insights

On sweet blocky yellow pepper Florate

“I immediately noticed the higher total production and the large size of the peppers”

Marcel Breugem of Kwekerij MB Production is an experienced heated greenhouse grower from Berkel en Rodenrijs in The Netherlands. Breugem grows the sweet blocky yellowpepper Florate from Enza Zaden on five hectares of an unlit greenhouse, after four years of growing Enza Zaden’s sweet blocky yellow pepper Gialte.

Marcel grows on three stems, and shares his experiences with the new Enza Zaden yellow pepper variety. Because MB Production is a variety screening location for Enza Zaden,Marcel has access to a behind-the-scenes look at the interesting breeding process from the earliest stages. As a result, he had already placed Florate for his screening plans for the past two years.

Marcel's experiences with cultivation so far

“What struck me was the high total production and the large fruit size of the peppers. Florate is a beautiful and strong crop. In the winter, Florate sets easily and in the summer, it maintains its weight, which is a very big advantage. The fruit shape of Florate isa uniform blocky pepper shape. The Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV) resistance is also abig plus for me because the virus is occurring in more and more places.”It is important to heat Florate at a more flat regime from the start of cultivation. Florate needs somewhat higher 24-hour temperature compared to Gialte. I do not recommend a deep pre-night, as Florate does not need that for setting or fruit size. You sometimes suffer from shrink crack during the first setting, but if you keep up the pace, you can limit that well.”

Yellow pepper Florate is a nicely balanced variety

Marcel continues: “Florate sets easily, in the winter as well as with a higher 24-hour temperature. The vigor and setting remain really nice and consistent, which is a big advantage. Until now it has not been necessary to apply a coating to the greenhouse roof, because Florate has such good leaf coverage.”Marcel started with an EC dose of 3.5 and explains: “In the spring, you stay at this level a little longer. Now we are at 2.7 and the minimum EC is 2.3. With Gialte, it was 0.2 lower inthe warm months.”“The start and stop moment of watering is a point of attention. In good light conditions, you can start to irrigate 2.5 hours after sunrise, but on a dark or rainy day you need to startabout 4 hours after sunrise. While Florate is a strong variety, you should not switch it on too early. Enza Zaden therefore advises to start on the basis of total light and to set the threshold not too low, for example >120J/cm2.”

“I expect that we will choose Florate pepper variety again next year”

Marcel concludes: “Based on what I have seen so far and the tests that have been done, Iexpect that we will choose Florate again next year. I am very satisfied with the combination of good fruit quality, constant vigor throughout the year, and good fruit size through all seasons.Florate is available in both conventional and organic form, through the Enza Zaden / Vitalis Organic Seeds direct sales representative for your region: