Bayer has recently added important new products to the Nunhems brand catalogue to satisfy the current needs of lettuce producers and traders. The company has released new lettuce varieties they expect will meet the demands of the entire food chain and help ensure production and quality throughout the year and, hopefully, will become the processing industry and fresh consumption markets preferred varieties.

Sideral is a good example of the innovation that Bayer transferred to its range of romaine lettuce. Sidereal is a romaine lettuce that is especially suitable for the autumn and spring cycles and that stands out, as its average weight per piece is much higher than usual. Even though Sidereal weighs more, it is a medium-sized lettuce that is especially attractive for producers, as they can get a higher yield per hectare. In addition, it is resistant to Tip Burn, Bremia lactucae, and aphids. Sidereal stands out for its excellent versatility, as it is an ideal choice for three very important market segments, such as the fresh consumption, industrial processing, and lettuce hearts markets.

Bayer held demonstrations for a week in the experimental station of La Palma (Murcia). In these demonstrations, the Sidereal and Glamoral varieties have been two of the main stars "because they reflect the full value of our work philosophy, which is to offer the market the best varieties of lettuce for each time of the year," said Alfonso Fernandez, a crop specialist from Bayer. Bayer also released the Olgada romaine lettuce for summer production, which stands out for its stability, good closure, and resistance to Eared and Tip Burn.

The Mayoral variety, which retains an undisputed leadership in January and February harvests, was also present at the demonstrations. The Mayoral has a well formed and compact heart, and it is the perfect choice for marketing buds in double or single packages. If the priority is the traditional fresh market, Mayoral offers very attractive pieces, slightly puffed leaves, and more flavor than other varieties that have a more rustic look and are harsher on the palate.

Iceberg
Bayers Adara variety, a new Iceberg lettuce for the winter cycle that has an attractive visual presence which clearly differentiates it at the point of sale, has important commercial possibilities. The Adara is resistant to mildew and aphids, and has caused a sensation among all operators in the food chain. For the autumn production, Bayer presented the Kuenka variety, a lettuce that has a complete package of resistance with which the Nunhems brand completes the leadership it has with the Mestiza and Vanguard varieties.

They also incorporated important developments to complete the calendar of the Little Gem typology. Thermal is a variety that is resistant to mildew and aphids and that is especially suitable for winter.

Multileaf
The new generation of Multileaf Apollo are best described as having more performance and a longer life. It is ideal for chopping in the processing industry, and consolidates the market leadership achieved by Bayer with Multigreen 101 and Multired 98. All the range of multileaf lettuce are resistant to the Bremia lactucae, to aphids, and to Nasonovia. The company also presented the new generation of Red Batavia, which is also a multileaf lettuce.

Other novelties presented during the demonstrations, which this year have doubled the demonstration surface, is the Danstar variety (NUN 09107 LTL), which is the first commercial variety of the Frillice typology that incorporates all resistance to Bremia lactucae and Nasonovia. The Danstar is a winter production lettuce that was created to meet the demand of the Scandinavian countries, which are used to consuming this type of lettuce.

Spinach
Bayer also announced improvements in the resistance of its commercial spinach varieties, as they are now resistant to the downy mildew that affects spinach (Pfs) Race 1 through 16. In addition, they have made significant progress to prevent the appearance of stained leaves caused by fungi by incorporating plant material that is less sensitive to this problem. Thus, Bayer has created a spinach with attractive dark green leaves, minimizing losses caused by fungal discoloration.

Nunhems for every taste
Throughout the week, Bayers demonstrations were visited by guests from Mexico, the United States, Turkey, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Greece, Portugal, and Spain, who learned about the agronomic characteristics of each variety and had the opportunity to participate in an event that could lead to cooperation and innovation.

Bayers lettuce multidisciplinary team, which is composed of more than 20 experts from various countries, were in charge of attending each visit at the experimental station of La Palma. "Weve demonstrated that we have the ambition and the skills to meet the specific demands of each market, complying with our principle of being global specialists," said Alfonso Fernandez.