Rijk Zwaan’s Salanova® one-cut-ready crispy, coral, oak and butter lettuce varieties

Salanova® is the name that stands for a range of fresh lettuce each providing hundreds of delicious baby-sized leaves with just one cut, while the award winning Knox™ trait provides additional shelf-life and improves the consumer experience by delivering fresher lettuce and helping to reduce waste.

“Knox™ is a game changer in lettuce breeding!” commented Rob. Developed after more than a decade of R&D, the natural trait delays the ‘pinking’ or browning of cut surfaces in lettuce by days. The whole supply chain benefits from fresher lettuce and reduced waste, thanks to Knox™.

Rijk Zwaan’s Salanova® Red Crisp Tralex RZ is considered an upgrade of the standard variety, Telex RZ offering extra yield potential. This variety has an upright posture, providing good airflow through the crop. It maintains its uniformity and is suitable for year-round harvesting in most areas. It is slow bolting, but it also maintains yield. The leaves have a vibrant transition in colour from green to red and a nice curl in the leaf.

Salanova® Red Coral Andiron RZ is high yielding and features a vibrant cherry red frill, contrasting with the green and providing an overall ‘coral’ look which adds dimension to the salad mix. Its large number of leaves make it especially suitable for mechanical harvesting and it has the added benefit of being slow bolting.

Salanova® Red Coral Barbex RZ™ is slow bolting and features a triple red incised leaf for outdoor production. It has very sturdy leaves and includes the Knox™ trait. This variety is upright, making it easy to harvest. During winter, it will stay off the ground, reducing the possibility of attracting diseases.

We have two new options in the Salanova® Red Oak category. Salanova® Ozwald RZ is a great summer option while Salanova® Zac RZ is suited for cooler seasons. Salanova® Zac RZ is a lot more vigorous and has a glossy red colour and to maintain production throughout the year, Salanova® Ozwald RZ has a nice leaf structure with a rubbery feel, is surprising weighty and has a very small cut surface. It is suitable for the warmer seasons.

Warrick Purdon from Hussey and Co looking at New Salanova oak variety, Ozwald RZ for warmer season production

Salanova® Green Crisp Exanimo RZ Knox™ (79-IN1600) grows out to a nice frill in the top with a slight curl in the leaf that adds strength and durability for processing. With extensive internal trials, we have shown it has been consistently yielding favourably and it is suitable for harvesting all year. This variety with the Knox™ trait is a beautiful leaf for the salad mix.

Watch the video and hear what Account Manager, Rob Philip has to say about Rijk Zwaan’s Salanova® one-cut-ready crisp and coral leaf lettuce varieties.

During the trials, Param explained that Salanova® red butter varieties Salanova® Red Butter Kalat RZ and Salanova® Red Butter Davinci RZ both carry the Knox™ trait. Salanova® Red Butter Kalat RZ Knox™ is more vigorous, offering more yield during the cooler periods while Salanova® Red Butter Davinci RZ Knox™ is strong against tip burn and its slow bolting makes it very suitable for the warmer season. When you cut these varieties, you can see a unique leaf with an attractive contrast of green and red. Beautiful leaves, outstanding colours to add into the salad mix.

One of the highlights of the trial this year is the Salanova® green butter varieties. The slightly darker Salanova® Green Butter Higgs RZ, and the lighter Salanova® Green Butter Chalmers RZ Knox™, which is one of the first in the green butter leaf types to include the naturally occurring Knox™ trait which delays the ‘pinking’ or browning process on cut surfaces making it very suitable for salad mixes.

Salanova® Green Butter Higgs RZ is more suitable for the cooler winter months because of its vigour and darker leaves, while Salanova® Green Butter Chalmers RZ is suitable for year round harvesting, as it is slower bolting. Both varieties provide good yields of sweet, tender and mildly flavoured buttery leaves that are a ‘forkable’ size and can be blended with the red butter varieties to make a salad mix that consumers can enjoy.

A new feature of the trials this year is the Salanova® Green Oakleaf types. Variety Salanova® Green Oak Tinne RZ Knox™, an innovation from the Rijk Zwaan breeders, has a very clean base with minimal waste. When cut, it offers hundreds of leaves that is out yielding some of the standard oak varieties. It is strong against tip burn and slow bolting, making it suitable for harvesting in the summer season. The leaf has a good contrast with an apple green colour at the top and blonde base.

In a similar style is Salanova® Green Oak Behn RZ with darker green, leaves that will be more suited to the winter seasons due to additional vigour. These high quality leaves are well suited for mechanical harvesting due to their upright habit.