The plant virus can attack leaves and fruit at any stage of cultivation, resulting in smaller, distorted fruits and ultimately a lower yield. After years of research, vegetable breeding company Rijk Zwaan has introduced the first New Delhi virus resistant squash varieties.
A research and breeding team of Rijk Zwaan Netherlands, Spain and Italy staff has succeeded in developing a series of high yielding squash varieties with particularly good fruit quality and resistance to the New Delhi virus. Rijk Zwaan Squash Breeder Maria Lourdes Pérez Aguilera of Spain “There is a huge market demand for this type of product. “While there is a relatively small player in squash, we wanted to offer a solution for growers affected by this virus,” says Rijk Zwaan. Rijk Zwaan has taken an important step in this segment with the launch of NewDelhi virus resistant squash varieties.
This strength is not only of great interest to squash growers, but also offers significant benefits for other partners in the fresh produce value chain. Ultimately, the supply of more stable, higher quality and more sustainable products can help improve the sales market at various stages of the chain.
Rijk Zwaan is working hard to make these unpredictable virus-resistant varieties available to as many producers as possible. The first batch of seeds was supplied to a selected group of producers for use in the upcoming season. Parallel to the production process, the Rijk Zwaan team continues breeding efforts to extend this resistance to the company's other open field and greenhouse squash varieties.
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As a vegetable breeding company, Rijk Zwaan constantly innovates to develop strong and durable varieties that produce high quality vegetables in various climatic zones and various growing conditions. Rijk Zwaan markets its groundbreaking, innovative strength varieties under the label "Defense". New Delhi hardy squash varieties definitely fall under this category and will therefore be sold under the Delhi Defense label.
The Tomato Leaf Curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) was first discovered on tomato plants in India in 1995. In 2012, the same virus was found on squash plants at production facilities in Murcia, Spain. The virus soon spread rapidly to the Iberian Peninsula, causing major problems for Spanish breeders. In 2014, the entire harvest failed and the entire fresh produce supply chain was severely disrupted. In the same year, the virus spread to Italy, Tunisia, Morocco and other Mediterranean countries. In fact, the virus outbreak on the island of Sicily was so severe that producers were compelled to grow other crops. This has largely eliminated pumpkin production on the island.