Sakata Seed Ibérica debuts in the vine tomato segment with Aguilar

After a preliminary announcement in December, Sakata Seed Ibérica has officially presented Aguilar, its first vine tomato variety. "From an agronomic point of view, the variety perfectly meets the current needs of vine tomato producers," stated José Carlos Roldán, head of tomato cultivation in Ibérica. "The calibers yielded by other varieties on the market start to decrease from January. In contrast, Aguilar can maintain G calibers from fruit set to the end," he said.

In addition, Aguilar offers intermediate resistance to the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), one of the producers' main concerns today. It also stands out for its fruit-setting capacity even in high temperatures. August is the optimal period for transplants of this variety, and there's some normal cracking during their fattening stage because of the high temperatures. "Aguilar excels in this aspect, setting perfectly with heat, with a minimum cracking percentage and a good caliber from the start," José Carlos Roldán stated. In addition, the fruit does not suffer from a yellow calyx, a common alteration caused by excess light.

From a handling perspective, Aguilar is a compact plant with short internodes, which allows for significant savings in labor costs. It is also a vigorous plant, capable of completing the cycle very well. "Generally speaking, Aguilar is a very flexible variety: it can be used for short or long cycles, depending on the needs of each grower," Roldán stated.

The variety was named after Jorge Aguilar, who will soon retire after more than 15 years of leading Sakata's tomato program at the EMEA level.

With Aguilar, Sakata is taking its first steps in the tomato segment based on local genetics. The focus is on developing profitable, high-yielding varieties with high resistance to ToBRFV, complying with the needs of producers from Almería.

For more information:
Sakata Seed Ibérica
Email: sara.guerrero@sakata.eu
www.sakataiberica.com