Breeding labour-friendly plants

“In many countries, transplanting and harvesting are done by hand,” says Ioannis Dimitrakopoulos. For breeders, one goal is to develop varieties that reduce the need for manual labour. 

Enhancing harvest efficiency 

One of the key objectives in breeding labour-friendly plants is to increase the number of fruits that are ready for harvest simultaneously. “In some markets, growers are doing multiple picks per plant. We try to develop very productive, long-standing varieties that enable them to collect more fruits as early as possible. When that is combined with the right disease resistance, the crop becomes easier to handle. This way, the grower can save time without reducing production,” Ioannis explains. 

Another aspect of labour-friendly plants is the ease of picking. “Some varieties have fruits that come away very easily, while others require more effort. We consider easy-picking varieties as labour-friendly because they reduce the time spent at each plant,” Ioannis adds. 

Growers who started using easier-to-harvest pepper varieties noticed they could pick their crops faster and spend less on labour. 

Open plant types  

Silvia Corella Borrás highlights the role of breeding and selection of ‘open’ plant types: “If a plant has a lot of leaves, the grower needs to search for the fruits. Therefore, we are aiming for an open plant structure. And if a plant has fewer leaves, plant diseases and pests have less opportunity to hide between the fruit and the leaves,” Silvia explains. That’s why Rijk Zwaan’s breeding programmes focus on developing open plant types with fewer leaves – but not too few, because leaves also help to protect fruits from sun damage.  

Balancing traits for optimal results 

Breeding labour-friendly plants involves balancing various traits. “You need to keep in mind that maximising one trait might cause something else that is not desirable,” Ioannis says. For example, to increase the number of fruits per pick, the plant must be strong enough to bear all the fruits simultaneously. Developing resistant varieties is also a priority within the company’s research and breeding programmes, according to Ioannis and Silvia. “If growers don’t need to spray or can reduce their spraying, they spend less time working in the field. High resistance in varieties – for every market and growing system – saves labour and inputs.” 

Mechanisation and robotisation 

Making plants easier to work with goes hand in hand with developments in horticultural technology. In high-tech growing systems, mechanisation and robotisation are further reducing the physical demands on growers. Automated systems for planting, watering and harvesting contribute to a more efficient and sustainable horticultural process. Researching and breeding plants that can be easily harvested with machines or robots is another focus area at Rijk Zwaan. “We need to develop varieties that work in those settings as well,” the breeders say. 

Boosting quality and profitability 

Silvia shares her motivation as a breeder: “It is very gratifying to see your product giving profit to the growers. They can use less chemical crop protection agents and have better-quality fresh produce. As a breeder, I feel part of the vegetable business.” Ioannis agrees: “Bringing novelties to the market makes it easier for the growers and results in more efficient production.” 

Research and development 

Research is central to Rijk Zwaan. Read more about our R&D activities here.