De Ruiter Presents New Greenhouse Tomato Varieties in Leamington With Focus on Disease Resistance
De Ruiter Seeds held an open field day in Leamington, Ontario, showcasing new cocktail, beef, and cluster tomato lines developed for commercial greenhouse production. The event highlighted improvements in Botrytis resistance and shelf life.
De Ruiter Seeds, a greenhouse seed brand under Bayer, hosted a field day for commercial growers at Leamington, Ontario — one of the highest concentrations of greenhouse production in North America and Canada's primary tomato-growing hub. The event presented new variety lines across the cocktail, beef, and cluster tomato segments.
The new varieties were positioned around two priorities: resistance to Botrytis cinerea, the grey mould fungal pathogen that causes significant losses in greenhouse tomato operations, and improved postharvest shelf life, which affects both retailer acceptance and distance-to-market logistics. Yield potential was also cited as a factor in variety selection for the new lines.
Leamington growers operate in a high-input, high-output model where variety choice directly affects disease management costs and pack-out rates. De Ruiter's event follows a similar format used by seed companies to demonstrate performance under local growing conditions before the main commercial sales season.