Seed selection Bejo Seeds - the guarantee of a good harvest
Author – Olga Balakhnina,
Consultant Representative Bejo Zaden B.V. in the Republic of Belarus
Probably, almost every one of us has heard of the existence of Silicon (Silicone) valleys, but hardly many people know, that there is a Valley of Seeds. It is located in the Netherlands or, as we used to say, in Holland. This is an area of approximately 370 hectares in the northwest of the country, on which several dozen innovative companies are concentrated, engaged in the selection of vegetables and flowers. The Valley of Seeds is the world center for plant breeding and seed technology development. Five of the world's top ten vegetable seed producers are located here. One of them is the family company Bejo Zaden.
The history of the company began in 1899 year, when the grocer Jacob Yong (Jacob Young) decided to go into seed business. AT 1912 year the baker's son Cor Beimsterbur came to the same idea (Cor Beemsterboer). In the 1960s, families joined forces to work together on hybridization, and in 1978 created a single company, which was named Bejo Zaden (Bejo are the initial letters of the founders' surnames, and zaden in Dutch means seeds). These two families still own the company today., which for 50 years has become a multinational enterprise with subsidiaries for more than 30 countries of the world and 1900 staff.
At present, the Bejo range includes more 1200 varieties of fifty vegetable crops. Different climatic zones are favorable for the production of seeds of different crops., therefore Bejo seeds are not only produced in the Netherlands, but also in Italy, France, Denmark, Germany, USA, Australia, China, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Argentina, Chile, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Zambia, South Africa, etc.. therefore, if you see “country of origin - Turkey” on the packaging of Bejo seeds, do not worry, these are seeds of Dutch selection, simply the best conditions for the production of seeds of this crop or this variety are provided by the Turkish climate.
No matter, where the seeds are grown, they all go to the Bejo parent company in the Netherlands, where quality control takes place, calibrated, processed and packed. Before, how the seeds go on sale, they are carefully checked for germination, cleanliness / admixture of weeds, moisture and health. Besides, the number of seeds in the package is controlled.
Bejo offers its customers seeds in several forms:
Raw seeds - seeds, which have not undergone any processing.
Precision Seeds (from English. precision – accuracy) - are distinguished by their calibration accuracy and the highest germination rate.
Primed Seeds - Seeds, stimulated to germination. Priming is a way of pre-sowing seed preparation, in which the seed germination process is first started, and then, when it's almost ready to hatch, they put him to sleep again. As a result, seeds sown in the ground quickly "wake up", give faster and more uniform emergence, and the finished product is more homogeneous. Need to keep in mind, that the shelf life of such seeds is short, they need to be stored at a temperature of +1 C ° to +5 C ° and be sure to sow that season, when they were primed.
Pelleted seeds are smaller or irregularly shaped seeds, which are covered with an inert material to give a rounded uniform shape, to facilitate the sowing process. Additional ingredients may be added to the coating. Bejo uses precision seed to produce pelleted seeds.
Organic seeds are seeds, organically produced.
Bejo uses a white coating for seed treatment., green and red. A new type of coverage is currently being introduced, made from natural and completely degradable materials.
White coating applied on organic seeds. It facilitates seeding and provides better visibility when controlling the seeding depth.
Most of the Bejo seeds are coated with green polymer dye, which contains a fungicide. Fungicide protects seeds from late blight and soil pathogens during germination, therefore, in no case should the treated seeds be soaked before sowing - you will wash away valuable protection and make the seeds more vulnerable to disease.
Red coating contains both fungicides, and insecticides, providing reliable protection against pests in the early stages of plant growth.
Working with seeds, coated with fungicides or insecticides, take precautions - use gloves or wash your hands thoroughly immediately after finishing work.
Bejo does not pack seeds fine ("Dacha") packaging. This is done by the company's dealers directly in the country of sale..
Bejo's professional packaging looks like this:
As you can see, not only the name of the variety or hybrid is indicated on the front side of the package, but also the batch number (it can accurately determine, on what specific site and when these seeds were grown), the number of seeds in the package and their weight, country of origin, seed size, how are they processed.
Smallest package sizes, coming from Holland, for major crops are: cucumber - 250 PC., tomato - 5 g or 1000 PC., carrot - 25 000 PC., cabbage - 2 500 PC., beets - 10 000 PC., watermelon - 200 PC., etc.
Only those varieties and hybrids of the Bejo selection are sold in Belarus, which have been tested at state variety testing stations, showed good results in our climatic conditions and are included in the State Register of Seeds. Now in the Belarusian register there are more than 150 varieties / hybrids 30 vegetable crops Bejo, among them as traditional, and vegetables that are not common in our country, such as pakchoy (Chinese cabbage - not to be confused with Chinese cabbage), red radish, savoy cabbage, Romanesco cabbage, kohlrabi, yellow beet, violet, white and yellow carrots, asparagus.
Pakchoi
Yellow beet
Savoy cabbage
Cabbage “Romanesco”
Purple carrot
Where can you buy Bejo Zaden seeds in small packaging?
Three official dealers of Bejo in Belarus pack seeds for small retail:
- JSC "MinskSortSemOvoshch" – stores "Seeds"
- IE Lukyanchuk, g. Pinsk, shop "Dachnik", it is possible to send seeds by mail, wire. +375 44 55 99 999
- LLC KLM, g. Minsk, wire. +375 17 226 25 85, shops "Euroopt", «Mile»
They sell seeds in professional Bejo packaging, if you need a lot of seeds, or you decide to buy, eg, full package of cucumber seeds (250 pcs) and divide them between neighbors and relatives.
Bejo not only creates new varieties and hybrids of vegetables, produces and sells them, but also maintains close contact with its vegetable grower clients, helps them choose the right varieties and advises on production technologies. One of the tools to help you get high-quality vegetable products is the development of the Cropalyser mobile application. It can be downloaded for free both in the App Store, and on Google Play. This app helps you to recognize diseases and pests, that hinder the healthy development of your plants. Set the Russian language in the settings, choose the culture you are interested in, press the CROPALYSE button and answer the questions, which the application gives you. At the end of the dialogue, you will learn, what disease or pest is causing problems for your plant, and get recommendations on how to deal with them.
The application will work even in the absence of the Internet in the field and is useful for identifying diseases and pests on the following crops: beetroot, cabbage, carrot, bow, chicory, celery, leeks, pepper, tomatoes.
You can get more detailed information about seeds of Bejo selection and the possibilities of their acquisition in Belarus on the website www.bejo.by , in the representative office of Bejo in Belarus by phone. +375 17 316 99 86 or contact a consultant by phone. + 375 29 65 11 833.
Asparagus
Tomato “Benito”
