Hazera’s Annual Agricultural Fair

At the end of June (26th), Hundreds of farmers from all over Israel and the world participated in Hazera Genetics’ Open Day at Yavor Farm, an event held for the eleventh year in a row that has become an annual tradition.

 

Hazera breeders were proud to present the varieties the company has developed especially for open field cultivation to growers, and conducted tours of the fields enabling participants to see the varieties close up and learn about their growing conditions. The varieties displayed during the open day included peppers, melons, tomatoes, watermelons, brassicas, lettuces, and eggplants.

 

Itzik Ezra, the Director of the Israeli Market at Hazera Genetics view: “This annual get-together at Yavor enables us to preserve and maintain our ties with growers, and introduce them to the variety of innovations in the field. This is also an opportunity to receive feedback relating to the growers’ satisfaction with the varieties and their suggestions for improvements. Hazera Genetics is constantly working to develop new varieties that will meet the very highest standards for the benefit of our customers”.

 

The New Offerings
During the Open Day, Hazera showcased several new and surprising varieties:

Galia Orange-flesh Melon 61902 – Galia melon with a distinctive orange-colored flesh, and a delicious flavor and aroma. The enhanced Galia melon has been given a new flavor, new flesh color, and shelf life suitable for importing, as well as the local market.

Puma personal watermelon – a groundbreaking watermelon, both in quality and excellent flavor.
Puma has an intense red color, high brix (sugar content), high uniformity, and crunchy texture. It is circular in shape and weighs 2 to 2.5 kilograms.

 

The Puma variety was developed especially for the American market, where personal watermelons comprises one third of total watermelon consumption. Its outstanding quality features are the primary force driving its penetration into the consciousness of retailers, growers, and the final consumers. Several leading retail chains have expressed great interest in Puma in Europe, due to its exceptional quality. 

Unique flavor tomato variety named Maggie – this flavor-filled variety has won the hearts of consumers and growers alike, as well as culinary experts. Maggie, Hazera Genetics’ new flavor tomato, is distinctive in its perfect combination of acidity and sweetness, and its high concentration of aromatic components. Taste tests conducted by Analyst Sensory Evaluation found that in addition to Maggie being the preferred variety among testers under the age of 35, it was also the preferred variety among people who define themselves as confirmed tomato lovers.

 

Maggie tomatoes have a flavor and aroma that reminds most Israelis of the tomatoes of their childhood memories. The new variety was developed over a period of six years of painstaking work, based on cooperation between Hazera and the Tomato team at the School of Agriculture in Rehovot, led by the breeder Dr. Gadi Ben Oliel.