Seed breeder Enza Zaden touts research approach and global accomplishments

Since 1938, Enza Zaden has been expanding its seed-breeding innovation to countries throughout the world — and the privately held company says its ownership and focus have distinguished a successful research approach.

Now 85 years later, the privately held company has more than 2,000 employees and reinvests 30% of sales into R&D annually.

In the U.S., Mexico and Canada, Enza Zaden says it is best known for protected culture tomato, pepper, cucumber and controlled environment agriculture lettuce, as well as open-field lettuce, spinach and newer programs in seedless watermelon, onion and more.

For North America, local research stations in San Juan Bautista, Calif.; Myakka City, Fla.; and Culiacán, Mexico, ensure regionally adapted genetics, according to a news release.

With by a doctorate in plant breeding and genetics and more than a decade of U.S. and global breeding experience, Enza Zaden USA Senior Station and R&D Manager Luis Maas is responsible for the operational and strategic direction of the North American research organization, building on a long-standing mission to play a dynamic role in improving access to healthy food, the release said.

Maas said in the release that although breeding technologies and resources are fairly consistent across seed companies, the capacity to deliver commercial products at scale is affected by organizational structure and corporate focus. Enza Zaden says its relatively flat structure enables breeders, sales, marketing and product development to collaborate and take ownership, while gaining continual insight into grower needs and the markets to be served.

"We’re both pioneers and innovators in plant breeding, and as a team, we consistently focus on the right products for the right conditions, here in North America and around the world," Maas said.

The company noted some of its recent North American successes, including a seedless watermelon program that in under five years has produced top varieties for all major production regions; a hybrid processing tomato developed in under six years that boasts higher fruit quality, better yield and better disease resistance; and two long-day red onions that are coming on strong in the North American market.

The North American research stations have also produced global successes such as Taila, a yellow onion that is rapidly raising the bar of quality and root disease resistance in Brazil; Red Coach, a red onion that has become one of the most widely cultivated in West Africa; and Iguazu, a red pepper now widely cultivated across Central and South America, according to the release.

HREZ, Enza Zaden's collection of tomato varieties with high resistance to Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV), provides another global impact example that hits home for tomato breeders, the company said. Along with strict phytosanitary measures, high resistance was identified as a key tool to overcoming the devasting effect of the highly transmissible virus, according to the release.

Less than six years after discovering a resistance gene in its own gene bank, Enza Zaden introduced HREZ varieties in all significant tomato types. The company said the compressed timeline during which it was able to deliver high resistance has enabled the global tomato industry to reset with the confidence.

"Enza Zaden provides a rewarding environment where top agriculture professionals can pursue their goals of better products while playing a hands-on role in enhancing the food system. From the EU to Africa, Central and South America, Australia, New Zealand, India and Southeast Asia and of course North America, we’re breeding to feed the world, and we believe in doing things right," Maas said.