BY AMIRAN KENYA

The deep red color and tongy-sweet taste of the tomato is quite a delicacy in Kenyan meals and salads and though a number of farmers are growing the product there is still a high demand for the product. Amiran’s Tomato Hybrid Varieties in the Kenyan Market are;

1)      Shanty F-1 Improved- For Open Field Production

2)      Galilea F-1 Improved- For Opne Field Production

3)      Corazon F-1 (Oval Shape)– For Greenhouse Production

4)      Eva F-1 (Oval Shape)- For Greenhouse Production

5)      Yaara (Round Shape)- For Greenhouse Production

The advantages of the above hybrid varieties compared to non-hybrid are;

v  Extended Shelf life

v  Fruit uniformity

v  High yield

v  Disease resistance

v  Heat Resistance

“It is important for farmers to know that for hybrids, flower setting is high. In addition, for hybrids there are; the determinate and the semi determinate varieties. The inter-determinate varieties give extended production and result into high yields. They can be grown in the greenhouse and also on open fields. The Shanty F-1 Variety Improved can be grown during rainy season as it is able to withstand the harsh weather”, advices Zipporah Mweni, Deputy Seeds Manager, Amiran Kenya.

Other Amiran hybrid tomato varieties have six key resistances;

–          Verticilium Wilt

–          Fusarium Wilt Race

–          Nematodes

–          Tobacco Mosaic Virus

–          Bacterial Speck

–          Tomato Yellow Leaf Virus

“The expected yields per acre are between 20 and 25 tonnes with some farmers getting as low as 15 to 20 tonnes. The Open Pollinated or non-hybrids will give 10 to 12 tonnes. The hybrid variety bears more per unit area as compared to the non-hybrids. With a strong support system of Agronomic Services offered by Amiran, tomato farmers can comfortably achieve the optimum yields”, states Zipporah.