b'countries. For example, more than 85 per cent is in Denmark dueprogram, and it depends on the final use of the product (salads, to mild summers and long days (16h). Genetically spinach is acooked), he adds.very flexible species for the hybrid breeding program because itPlants in the bunching segment should be taller than baby is dioecious (male and female plants exist separately; althoughleaves and have a more upright plant habit with leaves larger monoecious lines do exist) and the phenomenon of sexual rever- than baby leaves. Round, oval and serrated leaves are accepted sal makes it possible to produce individual lines seeds, saysdepending on the market. Furthermore, the petiole, connecting Kumari Sharma.the leaf to the plant is long, so harvested leaves can be bound Johan Rijk indicates that leafy crops normally have shorttogether in a bunch. For this segment the colour should also be growing cycles, meaning the use of chemicals is more restricteddark green. The main countries for bunching are Turkey, China, and limited than in fruity crops with a longer growing cycle.Mexico and Middle East, says Jaarsma.Therefore, the need and development of resistances to certainHe continues that for the processing market this typology is diseases becomes even more basic and urgent. Advantage is thatless important, since the spinach is being processed to canned we quickly see the results of testcrosses since one doesnt needand frozen products. However, the leaves healthiness is impor-to wait until fruits are developed. The challenge is thus to be astant to provide large volumes of high-quality leaves to the pro-fast as possible, he says. cessing factories. Additionally, leaves are as large and thick as Indeed, the soft tissue of spinach is very susceptible topossible to reach high yields and are preferably non-savoyed many leaf diseases including Colletotrichum, Cladosporium, andto avoid accumulation of soil dirt in the crinkles that comes Stemphylium, says Hunter. along with savoyness. The colour may range from lighter green to darker green. The main market for the processing segment is DIFFERENT LEAF TYPES FOR DIFFERENT MARKETS EU, adds Jaarsma.There are three different leaf types: Oriental, Smooth and Savoy. Oriental is preferred in Asia for bunching; smooth for process-ing in Europe; smooth and savoy for baby leaf in Europe, U.S., Australia and New Zealand.Jaarsma explains that depending on the market segment, they breed for different leaf types. He points out that there are three main segments: baby leaf, bunching and processing. ForIf you wish to find out how much time and money it takes to develop a baby leaf, the market demands relatively small and very roundnew spinach variety and which are the biggest hurdles for these spinach leaves with different levels of savoyness, ranging from smoothbreeders, please make sure to check out the full story on our website: leaves to savoyed leaves and a dark green colour. The largesthttps://european-seed.commarkets for the baby leaf segment are the U.S. and EU, he adds.Laan indicates that they breed for both smooth leaves and semi savoyed, mainly for the baby leaf market. For bunching the leaf type needs to be oriental, he adds. BASIS qualified At his company, Johansen mainly breeds semi savoy leaf- Agronomists for growing types (crinkly) for baby leaf, and smooth for bunching andagrifood businessindustry. Round leaves for baby, more oval for bunching, while smooth and pointed leaves are used for some far east markets, he adds. We breed for both the baby leaf market (consumed raw)We work closely with your CONTACT US TO EXPLORE and the bunching market that consumes cooked spinach, saysbusiness to find the best peopleTHIS OPPORTUNITY Kumari Sharma. for you. FURTHER.The baby leaf market in Europe and America demands aWe help candidates find the European type, i.e., round/oval-shaped smooth or semi-savoyright business for their career 01885 483440leaved varieties with an excellent DM resistance package.development. admin@delacyexecutive.co.ukThe bunching market in Asia prefers an Oriental-type, i.e.,These positions are based indelacyexecutive.co.uktriangular to pointed leaved varieties that need to be very dark,Southern England for one of the shiny smooth, and tasty. UKs best known agrifood businesses.According to Johan Rijk, it depends on the market, but for baby leaf his company breeds for both semi-savoy and smooth, while for processing and bunching spinach they breed for smooth leaf types only.For many years the market was focused on the popular smooth leaf type explains Hunter. In 2011, we introduced savoy materials as an innovation to the baby leaf market. This now makes up a significant portion of the market we actively breed for.Our main focus market is baby leaf market, says Simons. Semi savoy leaves are very much appreciated because it gives more volume in a package. Our program is diverse, and we also cover bunching and processing from smooth to savoyed leaves. We see different wishes, not only per country or region, but alsoTHE LEADER IN AGRICULTURE & AGRI-FOOD RECRUITMENT IN THE UK & EUROPEbetween growers. This means we need to keep diversity in our EUROPEAN-SEED.COMIEUROPEAN SEED I 15'