Berry company Driscoll's boasted the first glasshouse strawberries of the Benelux season with the start of harvest for its exclusive Lusa variety. 

The beginning of Lusa picking was described as an advancement in greenhouse strawberry growing in the region, brought forth by advanced growing techniques, explained lead grower Wilbert van Oers, located in Etten-Leur, Netherlands.

"Due to the use of assimilation light we can stimulate the growth of the fruit and we are able to harvest strawberries that we only planted eight weeks ago. And as Driscoll’s varieties are high performing, I can still guarantee offering a quality product, even with an early harvest," van Oers said.

Driscoll's described the Lusa variety as a large fruit with sweet flavor and light red color. For growers, the fruit provides the advantage of an extended harvest period and high yield, the company said.

"The big advantage for the grower is that he reduces risks by being less dependent on one production period. This structural production is also beneficial for the picking crew as the capacity is rather equally spread throughout the season," Driscoll's said.

The first large volumes of Benelux, glasshouse strawberries will be available from Driscoll's in mid-March.

Photo: Driscoll's of Europe, Middle East & Africa

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