KWS is currently placing a strong strategic focus on winter wheat, so expanding the portfolio with successful varieties is a high priority for the company. With this in mind, KWS has already been offering high-performance wheat varieties from other breeding programs for regional use through the exact trial network Weizen4Ort. A total of four wheat varieties from KWS have now also received approval from the German Federal Plant Variety Office, with the lineage varieties KWS KEITUM, KWS DONOVAN and KWS SVERRE producing the highest yields from the year’s cohort. KWS KEITUM excelled as the strongest performing variety, achieving yields well above average as well as good leaf and ear health. The outstanding yields produced by KWS DONOVAN exceed the market leader by 6% while also having a strong protein yield. A very healthy variety with superb resistance to mildew is the newly approved KWS UNIVERSUM. Seeds for all varieties are available for sowing in the fall.
Due to its many positive characteristics, rye is experiencing a kind of renaissance. This can be seen, for instance, in the more than 5% continued expansion to 670,000 hectares in the amount land cultivated in Germany at fall sowing last year. The KWS hybrid rye with PollenPlus ergot defense posted a similar success, emerging as the market leader. The variety KWS TAYO, which has already been launched on the market, played a significant role in this success. The German Federal Plant Variety Office has now also issued its approval for use in Germany, and KWS TAYO was the only variety in both the untreated and treated options to receive the top rating of 9 in grain yield. A well-balanced overall state of health and good standing power round out KWS TAYO’s profile. KWS RECEPTOR is a compelling variety of grain thanks to the combination of good ergot defense and high yields. The new variety has already been approved for use in Austria and Estonia and will be available in Germany for the coming sowing. Winter barley is also an area where KWS is expanding its market-leading portfolio in the multiline segment, with KWS MEMPHIS a newly approved variety from the group resistant to type 1 and type 2 yellow mosaic virus. This means winter barley cultivation will continue to be safeguarded in the future as well. This variety also offers good standing power and superb commercial quality.
You can find more information about the new approvals here: www.kws.de/getreide
About KWS*
KWS is one of the world’s leading plant breeding companies. In the fiscal year 2018/19, more than 5,500 employees in 70 countries generated net sales of EUR 1.1 billion and earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of EUR 150 million. A company with a tradition of family ownership, KWS has operated independently for more than 160 years. It focuses on plant breeding and the production and sale of seed for corn, sugarbeet, cereals, rapeseed, sunflowers and vegetables. KWS uses leading-edge plant breeding methods to increase farmers’ yields and to improve resistance to diseases, pests and abiotic stress. To that end, the company invested approximately EUR 200 million last fiscal year in research and development.
*All indications excluding the results from the companies accounted for using the equity method AGRELIANT GENETICS LLC, AGRELIANT GENETICS INC. and KENFENG – KWS SEEDS CO., LTD.
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