New developments in spinach breeding were highlighted recently at the Rijk Zwann research farm in the Salinas Valley. General manager for Rijk Zwaan, USA, Rick Falconer, said there’s still a big focus on disease resistance. “Disease resistance in seed companies is a big deal, for us and for other companies,” Falconer said. “In spinach, downy mildew remains project number one. It’s a very severe disease here in the Salinas Valley, and breeding is primarily working toward constant changing of the new races that come out there. A lot of this work here is our breeders going through and evaluating new spinach varieties with their resistance to the new disease.”
And while disease resistance is a top concern, there are a lot of other things growers and breeders look for. “You think spinach is spinach, right? But it’s really not. It’s very diverse and a lot of vegetables are this way,” Falconer said. “In spinach you have baby leaf, bunching and processing spinach. You have different leaf shapes, textures and maturities. All of them have a market out there and certain growers in certain markets have different demands. As a breeding company, it’s important for us to be in as many markets as possible.”