KWS Vegetables, a world leader in spinach seeds, has once again held its open house days from February 11 to 13 at its trial field in Miranda, Murcia. The Dutch multinational has presented new improved varieties and received customers from all over Europe on its 20-hectare test field.
High tolerance and rapid growth in spinach
From its extensive spinach catalog, KWS Vegetables is highlighting KSP 0066 as a novelty for this season. "This is our fastest variety for the winter segment. It even surpasses Quartz by bringing the harvest forward by 4-5 days, offering an ideal harvest window," stated José Carlos Grajeda, Regional Product Manager. "It is ideal for any producer, not only because of its bright, uniform, very intense green, tolerance to salts and local pests, such as downy mildew and 1.20 but also because it also adapts very well to all locations and terrains," he added.
Ongoing and custom advice
The multinational company continues to develop its "Spinach 365" program with which it aims to provide year-round service to its customers. "With this program, we help growers to supply supermarkets with the same leaf quality and in the desired quantities all year round. This benefits their consistency in supply and helps their image with suppliers," stated René van Meijel, head of the baby spinach and chard Europe team.
To provide added value, and as a novelty for this edition, the Dutch multinational held a conference on Pythium exclusively for customers. This pest is one of the main challenges for spinach producers and greatly impacts crop profitability. KWS Vegetables' experts Mark Charlesworth, product manager for spinach and chard, and Anita van Nieuwehhoven, manager of technology applied to horticultural seeds, presented their strategies and advice on how to manage Pythium effectively to the professionals attending the event.
Finally, the INITIO nutrient substrate was once again present in the test field. This nutrient-rich coating, which provides a strong start to spinach crops by improving their growth and yield, is already highly popular in most European spinach orders.
New KWS Vegetables' Appointments
After the success in Miranda, Murcia, the Dutch seed company is already looking forward to its next field days. The highlight of these events will be the already consolidated Pop Fest, which will take place in Aandijk, the Netherlands, from September 20 to 24. The last event of this cycle will be the Winter Pop Fest which will be held on week 7 of 2026, at its experimental station in Miranda, Murcia.
For more information:
KWS Vegetables
www.kws.com