Over the past few weeks, the first Baccara and Fakir have been harvested. Usually test lots, but still. The results are all excellent. In some places, the head is slightly young with a puffy outer leaf and a little growth crack, but in general the results are already very good. Things look promising for the coming months, because the best forcing period for these varieties is from the beginning of February (harvest) to May/June.

Baccara very widely introduced

Baccara has been extensively introduced this year. Following last year’s good results in various international variety tests, this new hybrid was in great demand. The first results are very promising. Baccara is already doing very well in January. Baccara is a variety with great potential. This hybrid is productive and the heads are not too long, making it ideal for small packaging and flow pack packaging. Various tests have shown that Baccara has a strong white core, is resistant to redness and easy to manage. The photos (click to enlarge) were taken at Fa Raijlof in Helmond (January 2011).

Fakir for the top segment

At Firma van den Oever, Fakir is forced from early January. Although this is still rather early, the product is excellent. Jan van den Oever: "This is good enough for me for the whole year". The head is tight, glossy and perfectly formed. The core is fairly short. Fakir was introduced on a fairly small scale because of the limited available seed quantities. Nevertheless, Fakir will soon be able to win over a large part of the market. Fakir is slightly slimmer than Baccara with a gleaming, high pointed head, ideal for quality markets (for example Flandria-Q and other elite markets). Last three photos (click to enlarge) and title photo.

See also Initial trials of mid-season forcing varieties at the Hoquet research station.