PARMA, ID - Bayer is looking to drive repeat sales for its customers this coming year, with the introduction of two new proprietary seed varieties, the Warrior and Embasy watermelons. These new varietal debuts align with the company’s goal to increase quality and flavor for the grower all the way to the end consumer. Under the Nunhems brand, Bayer offers high-quality seed varieties for 25 fruit and vegetable crops.

Produce Chain Specialist, Matthew DeCeault, and Kike Rossell, Bayer’s Product Specialist Watermelon NAFTA, join me to discuss the new varieties along with the advantages and benefits that are translated to the growing community.

“Warrior is our seedless watermelon most comparable to our incredibly popular Superseedless series. Warrior is early and provides consumers with consistently high brix, firm flesh, and flavor,” Matthew tells me. “Just like the Superseedless, its performance in fresh-cut applications is top-notch.  It provides consumers with a juicy-crispy eating experience. Warrior produces mainly 45-ct melons so it fits perfectly with most retail programs to kick off the season.”

Kike tells me that with the new Warrior variety in the lineup, Bayer can continue to deliver the very highest quality. “Warrior starts very early in the season and consumers can count on a consistently fantastic eating experience on shelf, from start to finish, while retailers will see repeat sales.”

Additionally, Warrior has a strong plant that will help to get a good stand in the field to support an abundance of fruit, Kike adds.

“Warrior provides IR to Fusarium races 0 and 1, which help the ability of the variety to produce high yields. Being a 45-ct + variety, Warrior delivers excellent yield to the grower of fruit that will fit the market demand in size and quality,” he says.

The new Embasy watermelon is Bayer’s take (in the superseedless type) on the darker-skinned wider striped watermelons growing in popularity with consumers across the U.S. This melon delivers high brix, firm flesh, and fantastic flavor along with a superior rind pattern.

“Embasy’s distinct dark rind compliments its rich crimson red flesh so that those halves, and quarter cut watermelons, display beautifully on shelf.  Like Warrior, its 45-ct size is a great fit for many retail programs,” Matthew says as he speaks about the positive feedback so far from growers, retailers and consumers. As consumers make note of the high quality & consistency of dark-skinned watermelons, Bayer anticipates their continued growth in the marketplace for years to come.

“It is very tasty, sweet, crunchy and firm, delivering an excellent eating experience beside the nice color of the rind and the flesh,” Kike says. “It has a strong plant which together with its IR to Fusarium race 1 allows a very good stand in the field and helps for getting higher yields like the Warrior.”

When I ask the team why growers should take advantage of the new watermelon seeds, they tell me that Bayer’s Nunhems brand new watermelon varieties provide consumers with a consistently superior eating experience over a full season.

“A huge focus for Bayer has been ‘bringing on’ the flavor and both the Warrior and Embasy melons deliver. Warrior provides consumers with high quality earlier in the season while Embasy’s attractive rind and great eating experience keeps consumers coming back for more,” Matthew says. “Growers also get peace-of-mind as the genetics in the variety backs up all the breeding work. It produces a fruit early enough in the market to profit from better prices and when the demand is higher for the crop.“

Bayer’s motivation behind this program is to provide innovation and traits that are needed by the grower to improve their return. This goes hand-in-hand with delivering to the end consumer, an excellent fruit that will be an eating experience to continually satisfy the taste buds of the watermelon lovers everywhere.

Bayer CropScience