Yuksel Seeds: new hybrids for the world

“Our seed production is managed to match the demand of supermarkets and other distribution channels,” explains international sales manager Gökhan Cengiz. Yuksel Seeds Ltd. offers a diversity of high quality, tasty fruit to meet the demand of the market and guarantee the quality of their products all over the world. It is the largest Turkish seed research and production company specializing in developing hybrid vegetable cultivars. The company has been awarded the “Seed Researcher Foundation Certificate” by the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture. Yuksel Seeds Ltd. specializes mainly in cultivars of hybrid tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, squash, melons and watermelons. Currently, Yuksel Seeds Ltd. has 5 research and breeding stations, in addition to 210 hectares of land. An area of 65 hectares accommodates several greenhouses used for breeding. Yuksel Seeds Ltd. has developed high quality hybrid vegetable varieties through different breeding programs for over 25 years and will continue to do so in the future.  Nowadays, Yuksel Seeds Ltd. exports its products to the whole world. “Our own developed varieties have high production, disease resistance and environmental adaptability qualities to meet all our customers’ requirements,” states Gökhan. China is also a strong focus for Yuksel Seeds, as it is the most important tomato growers’ market (90% are pink tomato types, 10% red). Since 2013, there has been growing interest in cocktail cherry tomatoes and other types of cocktail varieties. India is also an important market for cucumbers, where the new Beit Alpha cucumber variety was successfully introduced. Other specialty varieties like the Sacher brown tomato are exported to diverse markets like Ukraine, Spain, Italy, and the USA. It is also famous in Turkey. In the US, for example a significant amount of the Sacher variety is marketed under the Brunela brand. The pink tomato is also popular in Poland (50% of it is exported), where Yuksel Seeds recently introduced a new generation of pink varieties with good taste and a firm flesh. A similar pink Marmande hybrid tomato is just starting to be exported to the Spanish market. The Middle East, the Balkan countries and North Africa are also important markets for pepper, melon and watermelon growers. The cucumber market is growing in Iran, Pakistan, India, Russia and Ukraine.”