Breed with speed

KWS relies on innovative methods such as double-haploid production to accelerate breeding

Developing a new variety takes an average of 10 to 12 years. Given the challenges facing agriculture today, speed is becoming a critical factor in plant breeding. Especially when it comes to complex traits such as disease resistance, KWS relies on innovative methods like double-haploid production to accelerate breeding. In doing so, our breeders take advantage of a fascinating characteristic that distinguishes plants from many other living organisms: they are totipotent. This means that, in principle, a complete plant can grow from a single plant cell.

For this purpose, cells are extracted from the plant in the laboratory and placed on a special culture medium. With the addition of nutrients and hormones, the cells continue to grow and divide there until the tissue regenerates into a new, complete plant.

How does double-haploid production work in wheat, and why is it so important for innovative breeding? Find out in the video.

Read more about our breeding methods here:
Breeding methods

Good to know

1. Why does plant breeding need to become faster?
Developing a new plant variety typically takes 10 to 12 years. At the same time, climate change, plant diseases, and pests are increasing the pressure to act. To respond more effectively to these challenges, speed has become a critical factor in modern plant breeding. KWS relies on innovative methods such as double-haploid production, which can significantly shorten the breeding process – especially when it comes to complex traits such as disease resistance.

2. What is the double-haploid method, and why is it so effective?
Conventional crossbreeding leads to heterozygous offspring whose traits are constantly recombined. To permanently fix desired traits, homozygous plants are needed, which can be produced in just one generation using the double-haploid method.

3. What are the practical benefits of double-haploid production?
Double-haploid plants are ideal crossing partners for hybrid breeding and allow for precise selection of key traits such as yield and disease resistance. For farmers, this means better-performing varieties reaching the field more quickly. Therefore, the double-haploid method makes an important contribution to efficient and sustainable plant breeding.

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The ears harvested in the greenhouse are first stored in a cold chamber. The cold temperature reprograms the immature pollen grains, known as microspores, preventing them from maturing.
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In order to produce double haploids for hybrid breeding, the microspores must be duplicated. They are located in the anthers, the male reproductive organs of the flower.
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In the laboratory, the ears are carefully opened to access the anthers. These are then transferred with tweezers into a Petri dish containing liquid nutrient medium – a kind of artificial soil.
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The supply of essential nutrients and hormones stimulates cell division in the microspores. In the regeneration chamber, they develop into embryo-like structures from which new, complete plants can regenerate.
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Not all regenerated plants undergo spontaneous doubling of their chromosome set. Analysis is required to determine which plants are actually diploid and therefore suitable for further breeding.
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The double-haploid plants are grown in a greenhouse and are ideal crossing partners for hybrid breeding.