Leading the Lettuce industry
Rijk Zwaan offers future-proof solutions for growers. Lettuce production is evolving rapidly. Labour shortages in mature markets drive mechanisation in transplanting and harvesting. At the same time, stricter limits on water, pesticides and fertilisers accelerate the shift to hydroponics. These trends create strong demand for innovative lettuce varieties with robust resistance traits – solutions that help growers stay competitive and meet sustainability goals.
All about Lettuce
Discover the world of Rijk Zwaan lettuce. From crisp Iceberg to vibrant Lollo and innovative Salanova® lettuce, our varieties combine flavour, convenience, and strong resistances for growers worldwide. Our Lettuce brands & labels
Crunshella™
Strong crunch. Multiple uses. Crunshella offers naturally spoon-shaped leaves with the strength to support warm or cold toppings.
Crunchy Lettuce
The best of Iceberg and Cos, combined into a single lettuce type. Meets the ever-innovating industry.
Crystal lettuce
An open iceberg, known for its sweet crispiness, high leaf count, and robust characteristic
Knox™
Introducing Knox™ – a natural trait that not only delays pinking in lettuce but also extends shelf life and reduces waste. Launched in 2015, we now offer a complete range of lettuce varieties, ideal for various ready-to-eat salad applications.
Nasonovia Defense™
A new, natural source of resistance that helps defend your lettuce crop against both known types of Nasonovia ribisnigri.
Open Heart Cos
Open Heart Cos is a versatile cos lettuce type designed for efficiency. Its open heart habit ensures a high processing yield, while features like Knox™ help extend shelf life and reduce waste across the value chain.
Salanova®
Our lettuce type designed for convenience and efficiency: one-cut, ready-to-eat baby sized-leaves.
Salatrio
The attractive living lettuce bouquet with multiple different lettuce varieties combined.
Teenleaf™ Lettuce
Teenleaf™ Lettuce is the efficient solution for the fresh-cut market: a range of varieties that are mechanically harvestable and suitable for both open-field and high-tech hydroponic cultivation
Rijk Zwaan's Hydroponic Solutions
Rijk Zwaan has developed a diverse range of hydroponic-friendly leafy vegetable varieties, suitable for various systems such as floating rafts, fixed and moving gutter systems (NFT), with or without artificial light, single/multi-layer vertical farms, and other soil-less methods. News
Aphid-resistant iceberg lettuce: “A promising step forward"
The currant-lettuce aphid doesn’t only cause problems for growers of iceberg lettuce, but also for retailers and processing companies. In this interview with Jantine Heemskerk, managing director of Heemskerk fresh & easy, she describes Rijk Zwaan’s Nr:0,1-resistant varieties – Happinas RZ and Friendlinas RZ – as “a significant and promising step” towards a sustainable solution for this problem.
Organic growers are excited about iceberg lettuces with new aphid resistance
Growers of organic lettuce are very excited now that organic seeds are becoming available for the new iceberg lettuce varieties with Nasonovia Defense™: Happinas RZ and Friendlinas RZ. “They’re eagerly waiting for us to breed this resistance into butterhead, cos, oakleaf and lollo bionda varieties too,” says David Pape, Client Manager at Rijk Zwaan.
Rijk Zwaan launches iceberg lettuce varieties with new aphid resistance
Rijk Zwaan has introduced the first two iceberg lettuce varieties – Happinas RZ and Friendlinas RZ – with a high resistance against biotypes 0 and 1 of the extremely troublesome blackcurrant-lettuce aphid Nasonovia ribisnigri (Nr:0,1). This innovation by the Dutch fruit and vegetable breeding company is a very significant development for lettuce growers and their customers, especially in Europe.