It takes 7 to 15 years to create a new plant variety, with some crops even longer. Therefore, when the plant breeder begins to develop a new variety, he must make assumptions about what the farmers need and what consumers may want 15-20 years from now.
This process is very demanding and requires more genetic diversity, a lot of crossover, selection, testing, data processing and a little bit of luck.
It's not just higher yields or better taste that the breeder is after. In order for the new variety to stand out from the rest, it must also have numerous advanced features. Depending on the crop and where it was grown, the new variety needs to have higher resistance to pests and diseases, good drought tolerance, more protein, vitamins or higher beneficial compounds such as antioxidants, just a few of the goals the plant breeder is working towards.
In addition, assumed consumer preferences may change due to changes in income, market supply of food products, information and technology. And all of these changes happen in a fraction of the time a new variety is created. Therefore, it is necessary to continually adjust breeding targets during a breeding program.
Luckily, a surprising number of new plant varieties hit the market each year. In the last few years, 3500 new plant varieties have hit the market in Europe alone.
In this content you will find a few lines of text for each innovative plant variety. Why these varieties are so innovative; You will find short descriptions describing their contribution to farmers and consumers.
When you enjoy a healthy meal, don't forget to thank not only the farmers but also the plant breeders.
"Adora" is a truly unique tomato variety with plenty of sweetness and flavor, thanks to its Brix (a measure of sugar content) value of over seven degrees. This marmande-shaped tomato, with its unique brown color, is also naturally rich in antioxidants such as lycopene, beta-carotene and tocopherol, which have a protective effect against important chronic diseases (cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes).
One Adora tomato, which meets a quarter of the daily intake of vitamins A and C, is also a source of vitamins and minerals, and helps to lower high blood pressure with its high potassium content. Spanish farmers use their passion and know-how to grow the best quality Adora fruit. Only tomatoes that meet certain production quality are worthy of carrying the “Adora” label.
Consumers can always rely on the Adora label to be satisfied with the taste and color of this unique tomato.
The winter wheat variety "AF Zora" is distinguished by the black color of the grain, resulting from a combination of purple pericarp (Ppgenes) and blue aleuron (Ba2 gene) genes. The black grain has an extremely high anthocyanin content, almost twice as high as the blue and purple grain varieties. It also has increased phenolic acid content and total antioxidant capacity.
Wheat with high anthocyanin content is very attractive for food processing industries. The high-value pigments in the bran layer can be easily extracted and used as functional foods and natural colorants, replacing synthetic dyes used in food, medicine and cosmetics. In addition, natural additives improve the nutritional value, appearance, texture, flavor and storage properties of food products. The AF Zora variety is designed for the production of nutritious, standard and specialty foods.
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"Agram" is a brown-seeded flaxseed variety with blue flowers, low to medium stem length, good lodging resistance, high resistance to diseases as well as root and stem base resistance. The content of unsaturated fatty acids of this variety with high seed yield was changed by mutation breeding. This variety, whose alpha linolenic acid content reaches 30% and linoleic acid content up to 40% , has a very low cyanogenic glycoside content and a very high lignan content (Secoisolariciresinol).
This favorable combination of fatty acids and high lignan content makes Agram suitable for the production of high quality oil that can be used in the food industry. The variety with these unique properties can be used in edible oil and seed production, healthy nutrition and the bakery industry.
"Alouette" is one of the jewels in the 'Next Generation' potato variety of the Agrico company. The tubers of this variety, which has a bright and strong red skin, have long and yellow flesh. It offers a pleasant taste to the consumers in potato dishes. For growers Alouette is a vigorous high yielding variety under a variety of agro-ecological conditions.
'Next Generation' is a unique variety for its natural resistance to mildew, the most devastating of all potato diseases. Combined with its outstanding culinary qualities, this variety holds great promise for both conventional and organic farming. Because New Generation potatoes have a significantly lower risk of crop loss, these varieties add to the varieties available for sustainable and healthy food production.
' Architect' has quickly become the No. 1 winter oil canola seed variety in Europe. It is the first hybrid variety with resistance to TuYV, high yield and shell breaking resistance. Within two years of its launch, 'Architect' became the first variety in Europe with more than 300,000 hectares planted (6% market share in the European hybrid canola market).
It is grown in more than 20 countries across Europe; It ranks first or second in variety in France, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary. The result of over 20 years of Limagrin's research efforts, the success of this cultivar is primarily due to resistance to TuYV, a disease transmitted by the peach aphid (Myzus persicae) for which chemical control options are limited.