Growing Better Together: Syngenta and D'Arrigo California Romaine Lettuce Success Story
Syngenta’s partnership with growers is a cornerstone of their operations. Growers face a variety of ever-changing challenges, and Syngenta is committed to understanding and meeting those challenges head on.
“Thinking about growers' needs in advance enables us to bring these products to market so they can be successful,” said Justin Goodwyn, Product Specialist, LBO West US, Syngenta Vegetable Seeds.
For over a century, D'Arrigo California has been cultivating success in the farming industry. They rely on top-quality seeds from Syngenta to ensure their ongoing success, including when it comes to romaine lettuce.
“We use a lot of Syngenta material in our fields,” said Michael Morris, Production Variety Development Supervisor at D’Arrigo California. “When it comes to romaine, we really like how the Syngenta lines have the taper at the base, commits to a heart, good weight, tends to have a smooth mid rib; it’s all those different qualities we really like in the Syngenta material.”
The challenges growers face seem to be never ending, and new obstacles often arise without warning. The partnership Syngenta offers growers like D’Arrigo spans decades, and supports the long-term success of D’Arrigo and other growers.
“Growers are at the heart of everything that we do, and we need to understand their needs, their demands, what their challenges are,” added Nick Barnes, Commercial Unit Manager West US, Syngenta Vegetable Seeds.
In 2019, a virus affecting romaine crops, called Impatiens Necrotic Spot Virus (or INSV), started having a dramatic impact on romaine growers. The virus caused an estimated $100 million in crop damage in 2020.
“We’ve got many challenges out here,” acknowledged Barnes. “The INSV is one in particular for which we fast-tracked our process.”
This fast-tracking was possible because of the quality partnerships Syngenta maintains with its growers, and Syngenta’s commitment to agile innovation in support of those partnerships.
“INSV was pretty prevalent in our fields,” said Morris. “We’d seen Stampede hold up to the INSV in trials, so we decided to move forward with it. When Syngenta saw there was a need for Stampede, they were able to move pretty quickly in terms of getting seed out there for the growers. If it wasn’t for that, we would have been struggling to get lettuce out to our customers.”
Syngenta romaine has very attractive types for all growing conditions, and Stampede is no exception, with excellent disease resistance, and a top-quality final product perfectly suited for carton, hearts or processing.
“Our most competitive advantage we have at Syngenta is to focus on developing these new resistances,” said Barnes. “And, of course we will continue to develop the partnerships we have, as we do with D’Arrigo.”
Revolutionize your lettuce production! Visit Syngenta's Vegetable Portfolio to discover innovative solutions like Stampede romaine. Partner with Syngenta for resilient crops and sustainable success.
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