Productivity, ease of labour and a variety that continues to perform throughout the entire growing season are important reasons for Agro Care to once again choose Macxize XR from Axia for the coming season. The team is now very familiar with the variety and can build on the experience gained from previous crops year after year.

Agro Care grows tomatoes at several locations in the Netherlands and abroad. In the Netherlands, several sites have chosen Macxize XR as a beefsteak truss tomato. The variety will also be grown again next season at the site in Rilland, where Hans Bouten is site manager.

Macxize is no stranger to Agro Care. The company was already growing the original variety before the XR variety came onto the market. The positive experiences with the variety provided the basis for continuing with Macxize XR. The coming season will mark the third year of cultivation with this variety.

Consistent productivity

According to Hans, one of the key reasons for choosing Macxize XR again is the productivity it delivers. Agro Care does not only look at the first few months of the crop, but also at how the crop performs later in the season. “Productivity was an important reason for us to choose Macxize, but the variety’s ability to maintain its performance during the second half of the growing season was also an important factor,” Hans explains.

Ease of labour also plays a role in the variety selection. Agro Care sees an advantage here, particularly compared with more vigorous-growing crops. Hans: “Ultimately, it is the combination of factors. Productivity and ease of labour together ensure that we can achieve a good return with this variety.”

Improving year after year

According to Hans, growing the same variety for a third year has another important advantage: you get to know it better and better. “When you choose a new variety, you always have to discover how it responds to the different seasons. Now we have the experience from the past few years and can build on that. This allows you to fine-tune the crop even further in the next growing cycle.”

That knowledge is important because a crop grown under extended artificial lighting is exposed to different conditions throughout the season — from the darker months with supplemental lighting through to spring and summer. This is precisely why Agro Care considers it important for a variety to continue performing throughout the entire growing season.

Learning from every growing season

That does not mean every growing year is the same. By building experience with the variety, Agro Care is continually learning how to manage the crop under different conditions.

Last year, for example, the team found that quality and colour development during the winter crop under full LED lighting required extra attention. Based on experience from previous years and in cooperation with Axia, the team was able to respond accordingly. In spring, the crop could then be illuminated effectively for longer, and production remained at a good level towards spring and summer. For Hans, this is part of working with a variety over a longer period: knowing where its strengths lie, but also where extra attention is required during cultivation.

Hygiene remains the foundation

Macxize XR has resistance to ToBRFV. For Agro Care, however, this does not mean that hygiene can take a back seat. Quite the opposite. “Keeping it out is the most important thing,” says Hans.

For Agro Care, this means a strict visitor policy, work clothing that remains on site, separate tools for each row and clearly defined working directions. “Hygiene has to be embedded in every fibre of every employee who enters our facility.”