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The top 20 varieties planted in 2002 in California
The top 20 varieties grown in California account for 81 % of the total tonnage produced in 2002. Mid-season varieties represent 60% of the tonnage of tomatoes grown for processing.
Agronomics
September 2002
From 2001 to 2002, the 20 top varieties grown in California slightly decreased in market share but, taking account of the production increase recorded in 2002, they have progressed in terms of volume. Of the 7.8 million metric tonnes produced in 2001, almost 83 % were grown from the 20 most frequently planted varieties. These same varieties only accounted for 81 % of the market in 2002, but for a production of more than 10 million tonnes.
Logically, the 7 top varieties in 2001 were still ahead in 2002, although in a slightly different order, accounting for more than 50 % of the total planted crop. The variety BOS 3155 (Orsetti Seeds) remained in top position, dropping slightly to 15.7 % of the market in 2002, against 23% in 2001 and 26% in 2000. The other Orsetti varieties came in 28th (BOS S-55) and 39th (BOS 24675) position among the Californian top 50. Over the past four years, Orsetti Seeds have provided an average of slightly less than 22 % of the processing tomato seeds for the US market.
The year 2001 was noticeable for a recovery in the market share of Heinz Seeds, but they have once again lost ground in 2002, with less than a third of processing tomato acreage. Over the past four years, the US seed company has consolidated its leading position by providing, on average, more than 31 % of the seeds used in California, thanks to its star varieties H9665, H9557 and H8892. Yet, of the 10 varieties that showed the greatest progress among the top 20, only 2 were produced by Heinz Seeds. But the leading US seed company retains the greatest progression of all thanks to its H1100 variety, which climbed from 48th to 17th place.
The third biggest provider of seeds in California is the Petoseed company. For the past four years, its Hypeel 303, Hypeel 108 and Hypeel 45 have occupied nearly 10 % of the acreage planted with processing tomatoes in California, with Campbell Seeds accounting for slightly more than 6 % of the crops over the same period of time.
The 20 top varieties were spread out according to their ripening cycle in a way that was similar to that of 2001. This demonstrates the efforts of the industry to plan for an optimally staggered harvest across the planted acreage, with early varieties (105 to 112 days) representing approximately 13% (two percentage points higher than in 2001) and mid-season varieties (113 to 120 days) representing 60 %.
(See also the article in our September 2002 issue).
In response to the opinions expressed by a number of our readers and with the objective of improving the readability of Tomato News, we have decided to only publish the results of the variety trials for 2002 on our website (), on the “Processing Tomato Variety Trials” page. This section already features the results obtained in 2000 and 2001 and the major part of results for 2002 also. We hope it will give you satisfaction.