Breeding

For Rijk Zwaan, breeding vegetable varieties is a constant striving for perfection. It is a continuous process, searching for varieties with an even better combination of desired characteristics. New developments in a crop or in the market can also lead to a need for new characteristics.



Main demands
The wishes and demands made worldwide by growers, the vegetable trade, the processing industry and consumers are the starting point at Rijk Zwaan for its breeding activities. The main demands made of a vegetable variety are:

· good germination vigour of the seed
· healthy growth
· resistant to diseases
· labour-friendly
· short maturing period
· high production
· ideal shape and colour
· pleasant flavour and aroma
· easy processing once harvested
· long storage life once harvested

Wishes of consumer
As well as satisfying the demands of growers, the trade and supermarkets, breeding work also takes into account the wishes of the consumer. Consumers are primarily interested in an attractive, tasty product at an acceptable price. Consumers also like to be surprised by new product concepts such as new colours and shapes, convenience vegetables, vegetables with extra vitamins or mini products.

Creating a variety
Creating new vegetable varieties is a lengthy process. It is a matter of constantly looking for a unique combination of external characteristics, growing characteristics, disease resistances and content. That is why a good breeder has a wealth of experience with plants, knowledge of crops, creativity, inspiration and patience. The time elapsing between an idea for a new variety and the moment when that new variety eventually becomes available to the consumer, can be 8 to 12 years of crossing, selecting, trialling, introducing and working alongside growers.

Broad genetic basis
The basis for the development of new varieties is formed by a huge collection of genetically very diverse material. This collection has been built up over the years by Rijk Zwaan breeders and is continuously added to. The seeds in this collection are stored long-term in optimal climatological conditions. When a breeder needs a new variety or crop characteristics, he can resort to this collection. By crossing and selecting, a new characteristic can be built into modern varieties.



Crossing: combining the best from two parents
A breeder has access to a detailed archive holding experiences with crossings made previously. This enables him to estimate what characteristics from which parents will have the greatest chance of being transferred to the next generation. However, plants and genes are not machines, so each crossing remains, ultimately, an educated guess. As the plants have to grow optimally, any possibly irritating factor will be eliminated. No plant should not be affected by diseases or insects and no plant should not be pollinated by pollen from other plants.

Controlled conditions
Therefore, crossing-parents often grow in controlled conditions. In the majority of cases these will take the form of heated glasshouses with supplementary lighting, with insect netting installed in the vents. It goes without saying that the plants should not accidentally be mixed up, either. This is prevented by giving each pollinated plant its own label with a code. This code is recorded in the database of the breeders.