All General Press Releases
New Technologies and New Traits
5th February 2008
Under it’s new banner of KWS UK, company technical director, Chris Tapsell, says that the company’s Thriplow, Cambs based team would be strengthened and benefit from new technologies now more widely available.
Chris Tapsell
He suggests that the results of strong links that CPB-Twyford has had with KWS over the last 10-12 years will soon be seen on farm.
The first malting spring barley, Conchita – bred by KWS’ pan-European breeding programme – is already in Recommended List Trials.
“This variety and others in the pipeline have been bred to suit a wide range of European conditions,” he says.
They will allow brewing businesses that increasingly operate throughout Europe to source one preferred variety, with the same set of quality characters, from every country in which they operate. It will simplify and streamline their brewing processes.”
At the same time, the UK arm of the company was also investigating novel optical fibre based gene marking technology. “As a result we will be able to identify and label over 1500 markers in the same time it took to examine just one.”
Dr Tapsell calculates that there are 3.4 million potential varieties in the field in any one year in the selection programmes at KWS UK’s breeding station.
The key focus on these and any new varieties would remain that of better yield and end-use quality; improved disease resistance and crops that can cope with more extreme weather conditions.
In sugar beet, KWS UK expects to have a full portfolio of rhizomania resistant varieties available within the next five years, and within the same time frame, introduce nematode resistance to UK growers.
Over the next decade, the UK business aims to introduce oilseed rapes with oil profiles to suit the bio-lubricant industry and exceptionally high biomass, bio-energy maize varieties.
“In the longer term, growers can expect to be planting wheats with resistance to aphids and drilling next generation winter sugar beet varieties,” predicts Dr Tapsell.
Commercial director, Andrew Newby says that growers should have every confidence in the varieties being developed across the KWS UK portfolio.
“We’ll be looking to develop even closer working partnerships with farmers testing varieties throughout the UK to ensure best practice husbandry that brings rewards,” he says.
