KWS has been investing for years in the breeding of successful pea varieties. “In recent years, we have served the French market more strongly,” says Jose Manuel Bustos Aguirre, Head of Cereals and Oilseed Rape at KWS. “We are now adding to this history of high-performance varieties with our new KWS KAMELEON. We don’t plan to sell it exclusively in Germany, but instead in countries such as England and France as well.”
The results of the assessment speak clearly to the outstanding quality of the variety: KWS KAMELEON is superlative in both the pea and protein yields; the Federal Plant Variety Office awarded it the top rating of 9. In addition, this new yellow pea is easy to harvest, offers good standing power at medium to high height and shows only a slight tendency to lean. The variety’s early maturity in summer – and with uniform ripening – guarantees that KWS KAMELEON can be threshed in high quality.
The proven variety ALVESTA, also in the KWS portfolio, can thus also be recommended for cultivation. It is a high-yield, reliable variety with very good results when it comes to growth and standing power.
Rising demand for protein plants and political support for them are currently leading to growth in the cultivated areas planted with peas. The reason is that peas are increasingly used as a domestic animal feed plant. Trends in human nutrition – vegetarian or vegan diets – are likewise stoking demand. Meanwhile, about half of German pea production is used for human nutrition. And in this context, we should not underestimate the topic of sustainability: Crop rotation that is too short or one-sided can result in crop management problems, and here new plantings such as the pea can provide for alternatives. The pea’s attractive blossom is also appealing to insects and thus makes a contribution to biodiversity. “I’m convinced that the many positive qualities of the pea will lead to more growth in demand," says Bustos Aguirre, Head of Cereals. "With LWS KAMELEON, we offer farmers a suitable, high-yield variety.”
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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