RZ-100-wt4-E-flipbook-240702 - Flipbook - Page 50
Cultivation glasshouse.. i
Although bitter-free, the cucumber is not yet
n Bergschenhoek, 1955.
sufficiently disease-resistant, and until it is
Rijk Zwaan refuses to register the cucumber with
‘As soon as it became known that we had bitter-free
varieties that we would be launching onto the market for
the 1959 season, we received many di昀昀erent reactions
the IVT. With this success, Rijk Zwaan would seem
from all quarters. In order to supply seed for the coming
to have a good chance of cornering the cucumber
season as well, they resorted to a single cross-breeding of a
market with this variety. However, competitors
use this bitter-free variety as a parent for making
bitter-free variety and a bitter one. This is called a hybrid.
This name – although it is not entirely correct – has
hybrid varieties, which although not completely
already been made o昀케cial. For the sake of convenience we
bitter-free (because the other parent still comes
will therefore avail ourselves of this name in the future. In
from a bitter line) are still accepted by the market
and also produce higher yields. The 1958 catalogue
contains the following text on the subject:
reality, however, it is a mongrel variety.
This is a fairly simple method for getting quick results.
Unfortunately, it was an inadequate result, as these
hybrids do not comply with the essentially noble attempt
to achieve a total absence of bitterness. Our 昀椀rst success
was challenged by a surrogate. Even more regrettable is
the fact that growers were often led to believe that such
hybrids would give the same results as a stable variety.
This is incorrect. One will never achieve absolute absence of
bitterness with these types of hybrids.’
48
Rijk Zwaan | Moving forward together