More innovations and closer to customers, the 'Next' of BASF | Nunhems at Fruit Attraction

Date:10-15-2024

BASF | Nunhems^® participates from October 8th to 10th in a new edition of Fruit Attraction in Madrid, and does so once again raising the flag of its 'What’s next'. In this way, the multinational company is focusing on consumer satisfaction and its role as a trusted partner in the sector to show and explore together the different paths to success.

To do this, BASF | Nunhems^® has restructured its sales team this year, "putting the customer at the center," details Anna Pedró, Country Manager Iberia since last June. "Our goal is to be closer to the customer, gaining in agility, efficiency, and response capacity," she explains.

The company now has two Area Managers in Almería and Murcia, Miguel Espinosa and Pedro García, respectively. "We continue to be specialists in crops," explains Pedró and insists on their "focus on the customer, so that decisions are made in the areas where they will be implemented."

On the other hand, BASF | Nunhems^® takes advantage of this year's visit to the Madrid event to showcase its innovation capacity, maintaining its leading position in the sector and always with the needs of the entire value chain in the radar.

The 'Next' in varietal innovation...

Tomato and watermelon are two of its main crops this year at Fruit Attraction. In the case of the former, the company has an extensive portfolio of varieties in almost all typologies that incorporate resistance to the rugose virus (ToBRFV) "without sacrificing anything," says Ester Serrano, Crop Lead EMEA for tomato.

"We have varieties to win the battle against rugose without compromising either the quality of the fruit or productivity, firmness, or size," insists Serrano. Among them, the Cabosur* and Caboluna* branches, the Azovian and Miravian* pear tomatoes, the Daivion* cherry, and the Dreampower* rootstock stand out. In addition, "next season, we will launch new varieties in all typologies, including the marmande type and new rootstocks."

The advances of BASF | Nunhems^® in the introduction of resistance to rugose are such that they even have two varieties under their Intense™ range that incorporate it. "We have improved the range from an agronomic and management point of view, as well as achieving fruits of higher quality and consistency," details Serrano.

The seed company has two tomato breeding programmes, one focused on varieties for mid-tech greenhouses (mostly in Almería and Murcia), and another aimed at obtaining varieties for high-tech greenhouses, that is, with much higher glass structures, heating, etc.

As a result of this second program, they have the Marvellion* cocktail and the Vitalion* round branch cherry. "They are varieties that offer a premium quality product," explains Pedro García, Sales Manager in the Region of Murcia, who advances that, precisely for this reason, in the case of Vitalion, "we are creating a group of producers."

Their goal is to connect the entire value chain, from the farmer to the distributor, to bring to the market a product with "a very, very high quality standard that satisfies the consumer."

Finally, BASF | Nunhems^® continues to emphasize its 'dual purpose' concept in watermelon, thus doubling the market options for producing and marketing companies. And that is, by cultivating the same variety, they can either direct their production to the fresh market or to minimally processed, meeting the demand for healthy and convenience products from consumers.

Under this concept, there are already four varieties with three common characteristics: firmer flesh, crunchy texture, and, above all, exceptional taste. Thus, in addition to Bazman and Harmonium, the first to support this concept, BASF | Nunhems^® adds Amazo* and Zenium* this season.

But these two new varieties are not their only innovations in watermelon, a market they lead. And to continue doing so, they add a new proposal in personal format, Takemi*, which can be used both in monoculture programs and as a pollinator. Takemi* is a really mini watermelon, about 2 kilos, with microseeds, black skin, and exceptional internal quality. In addition, it is very productive, solving one of the main problems faced by producers in this size range.

... and also in digitalization

On the other hand, BASF presents two new crops, onion and potato, in its Agrigenio™ DSS system, a technological tool based on mathematical models that provide essential added value in the decision-making process for farmers.

The Agrigenio™ platform centralizes the management of crops and agricultural farms, offering comprehensive advice on the areas that define agricultural production: pest and disease control, irrigation, fertilization, etc. In this way, it facilitates and justifies the decision-making of technicians and farmers, seeking greater sustainability in environmental and productive terms.

Thanks to the use of precision digital technology, Agrigenio™ DSS allows farmers to predict the appearance and spread of pests and diseases in onion and potato crops that are added to those launched the previous year: industrial tomato, vine, grape, and olive, thus optimizing the application of plant health products and optimizing the use of phytosanitary products in crops.

In this way, BASF puts at the service of farmers a tool that allows them to make informed decisions and optimize production, which translates into more profitable and sustainable agriculture.

*APC granted and in the process of application for inclusion in the EC Common Catalogue of Vegetable Varieties.