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Buttonhole kale

With the rise of the ‘foodie’, and a millennial generation that appears to be taking more of an interest in its health, the need to produce new types of fresh produce, or to better the products currently available, is stronger than ever.

The onus is on seed companies, therefore, to produce the goods. But one hurdle is proving to be a particular pain in the proverbial when it comes to pushing on to the next level.

David Rogers, of Tozer Seeds, says: “Intellectual property rights remain an issue of concern within the seed world, and without some protection of our IP, then there can be no innovation. However there remains some concern at the potential effects of patents at the gene level.”

On top of that, Rogers adds: “Also within the EU there is a degree of confusion over the changes in legislation to plant protection products as applied to seeds. The EU legislation which came into effect a few years ago was supposed to harmonise things, but has actually left more questions than answers.”

Despite these issues, there are some exciting developments in production.

Kate Smart, technical manager at Sakata UK, says: “Sakata UK will see significant sales in 2016 of new lines launched in late 2015. These include three baby leaf spinach varieties and two cauliflower varieties.

“There is a growing trend in pink tomatoes, both baby and plum types, and with pink types being traditional in Japan, Sakata has a good genetic pool to work from.”

Tozer is looking to build on the success of the Flower Sprout. The firm released Baby Buttonhole Kale in 2015, and has other kales with novel leaf shape, sweeter flavour and vibrant colours set for launch this year.

Rogers adds: “We hope that more of our new runner bean material makes it into the market this year. We have varieties with improved pod quality and flavour which are almost entirely self-pollinating.

“We also have two excellent new parsnip hybrids which are currently progressing through the latter stages of our trials process. One of these has a greater tendency to remain whiter for longer, which is something many customers have been looking for.”

On a similar note, pinking on the edges of lettuce leaves is an area seed firms have been tasked with tackling. Gerard van der Hut, country manager at Rijk Zwaan UK, believes his firm has discovered a nature-based solution to the problem, in the shape of a trait it has named KNOX.

He says: “Rijk Zwaan worked on the development of KNOX for a total of 10 years. Our team developed a research methodology and tested the extent of discolouration in hundreds of lettuce heads. And then they had a breakthrough: the researchers found a plant with no discolouration even after three days. Extensive laboratory and practical tests have confirmed this unique trait.

“In the UK, KNOX has created a huge interest with processors and retailers. Local testing with processors has shown that this trait really works, and has a minimum two-day extra life. Processors are impressed that this is achieved with making use of traditional breeding. KNOX - or the extra shelf life - is not going to be highlighted to the consumers. Instead, they will experience the improvements in the bag, and good experiences lead to rebuying.”

Van der Hut believes that this development can actually prove to be a game-changer on the shelves for lettuce: “Salad bags sales are dropping and assortment is shrinking, but salad bowl sales are rising sharply, although lettuce volume is still down,” he notes.

“This is due to bowls containing relatively little salad, and much protein and sauce. This means lettuce has become a carrier for everything else in bowls, making lettuce less valuable. This is not a good development and something the industry should work hard on, to change consumers’ perception. KNOX can aid in the reversal of this trend.”

I recently spoke to a grower who told me seed firms concentrate too much on producing high-yielding products, and can forget the consumers’ needs. I put this to Rogers, who says: “Growers will always come first for us, purely because if a variety can’t be grown profitably, then it will never reach the shelf anyway.

“Having said that, consumers have become more and more important to our breeding efforts over the last 10 years or so. Fundamentally it means our breeders now have to take more factors into consideration, especially when producing more novel items. It is also important to our core lines - for instance we are currently investing in research to help identify ways to enhance the flavour of celery, and we now have plans to create our own small development kitchen, which will really help in this respect.”

Rijk Zwaan says its aim is to raise vegetable consumption by making vegetables “even tastier, more attractive and more convenient.”

Van der Hut claims this long-term goal is shared by the whole industry, “including the consumer”. He adds: “Typical grower characteristics like yield and disease resistances can contribute to making vegetables more popular, so by having this long-term vision constantly in our minds, we can make the right choices in our product development, and balance the needs of the consumer with the needs of the growers.”

Seed firm HM Clause last year provided one of 2015’s standout breakthrough fresh produce items, as it helped launch new oriental cauliflower into Waitrose as ‘Sweet Sprouting Cauliflower’. This year, it is working on “super sweet” sweetcorn.

The firm’s UK vegetable seed specialist, Oliver Watts, says that in 2016 he expects to see more innovative and ‘local’ products that are quick and easy to use. He explains: “We are developing a first-to-market hybrid swede which will allow growers in Scotland to utilise certain fields that were once unmanageable due to high levels of clubroot infection.

“Also, there is a major shift towards innovative products that are interesting and easy and quick for the customer to use, like stem broccoli. These crops are also of interest for growers, as the margins on these lines are healthy in times when growers face huge pressure from retailers.”