On 1, 2 and 3 February, the official variety trials took place at the various forcing companies for mid season forcing. A number of new varieties were shown and compared for the first time in this respect. So an interesting introduction for many chicory forcers with a number of new varieties. The demo evenings were therefore well attended.

Baccara very prominent

Baccara is a new hybrid for mid season forcing (harvest from February to June). Baccara was prominent at the various companies with a light bulbous head which is closed more tightly. The new hybrid OK-7209 was similar to Baccara. At all the forcing companies, Fakir presented a beautifully formed, high pointed head. At 2 locations, Fakir still seemed a little on the young side. At Marco van Aart in Breda, we saw that quality and production can go well together in Fakir (forcing period February- June).

Remarkable differences

As expected, there were again some remarkable differences between the different forcing companies. Obviously, conditions are different everywhere: separate forcing chambers versus one large forcing area, singling grids versus separate chicory roots, etc. For all varieties, it could be said that the forcing period for these mid season varieties had gone exceptionally well in Breda. Baccara, Fakir and OK-7209 also looked wonderful here. Possibly the slightly higher temperature build up in the system with separate roots placed next to each other was an advantage for these often young batches.

Click on the photos for a glimpse of the variety trials in Breda and Espel.