Plant Breeding
Breeding Goals for Successful Farming
All the shareholders who have joined their forces to form the German Seed Alliance are actively and intensively breeding and selecting within their respective crop ranges. The breeding goals include adaptation of plant varieties to the climatic and to the soil conditions, yield increases and yield safety, but also development of new and improved qualities. Resistance against plant diseases and against pests is crucial for sustainable crop husbandry.Plant breeding is still carried out along the lines drawn by the Laws of Heredity discovered by Gregor Mendel in mid-19th century. They have been systematically applied since the beginning of the 20th century: Two suitably selected parent plants of the same species will be crossed with each other. After the pollination, the genes of the parents will be recombined, and the offspring will be genetically diversified. This offspring will be selected again and again in a lengthy process of 10 years or more to find the plants that best exhibit the desired combination of properties in the natural environment and cultivation conditions, until a new plant variety has emerged.Today, plant breeders use the latest findings of the life sciences and plant research to preserve and enhance genetic biodiversity, to allow a more targeted approach in plant breeding and to enable a quicker and more precise selection of the appropriate genotypes. The rule is: If you want to reach your breeding goal, high-tech is the key.