Plant Breeding

  Agrosystems
  Plant Breeding
  Mushrooms
  Biointeractions and Plant Health
  Biometris
  Bioscience
  Cooperation
  Research facilities
  Projects
  Sustainable production and climate change
  Health
  Plant-based raw materials
  Systems biology

Plant Breeding unravels genetic information of plants

Unravelling the genetic system of a crop with a good drought tolerance or insect resistance is no simple task. It requires fundamental knowledge of plant genetics but also new strategies and techniques to utilise such knowledge in the breeding of plants.

Plant Breeding has such knowledge. We use this to help large and small breeding companies in advancing their crop breeding. And we also help building new chains for the biobased economy. In such a biobased economy biomass is replacing part of the mineral oil in the production of specific raw materials and plants are used for the production of high-grade chemical products.

Developing prototypes of new crops
Plant Breeding has such knowledge. We use this to help large and small breeding companies in advancing their crop breeding. And we also help building new chains for the biobased economy. In such a biobased economy biomass is replacing part of the mineral oil in the production of specific raw materials and plants are used for the production of high-grade chemical products.

Research focus
Our research focuses on the characterisation, conservation and use of genetic material. This means the following:

  • We are building collections of plants, in particular brassicae, barley, potato, tomato, lily and rose.
  • We are developing instruments for the detection, quantification and efficient utilisation of genetic variation for research into functional biodiversity and crop breeding.
  • We are developing methods to make plant breeding more efficient, such as molecular markers and other improved identification, selection and transformation methods.
  • We are developing statistical and computer programmes to enable efficient use of all data we are generating for crop breeding.

Academic and applied 
Plant Breeding is a collaboration between Plant Research International and the Chair Group Plant Breeding.
Plant Breeding is in this way combining academic scientific expertise with more applied, strategic expertise. This mix of various lines of approach enables us to convert fundamental knowledge into knowledge for further use by the industry.

Plant Breeding counts more than 120 employees together with – continuously - a large number of guest workers. In addition, some 50 to 80 students are active. 

To:
Research examples


Sustainable production and climate change 

Sustainable production   

Climate change


Health


Plant-based raw materials


Systems biology


>>
Publications Plant Breeding

  
Print this page

Contact
Richard Visser
Business Unit Manager Biodiversity and Breeding
Business card
richard.visser@wur.nl
 
Ton den Nijs
Business unit manager
Business card
ton.dennijs@wur.nl
»  more Contact
Recent:
Sustainability in current production of GM crops depends on trait, crop species, production method and local context

The production of genetically modified (GM) crops outside of the Netherlands can make a clear contribution to sustainable agriculture at a local level. However, the eventual impact on sustainability, expressed in the effects on People, Planet and Profit, does not depend only on trait, crop species, and production method but also on the local context. In this framework, GM crops are similar to other innovations in agriculture.

Wageningen researchers discover genetic ‘control box’

In the future, plant breeders may be able to develop potato varieties that are better able to withstand long drought spells than the currently grown varieties. This is the outcome of PhD study carried out by Anitha Kumari in March 2011 at Wageningen University, part of Wageningen UR. Kumari discovered huge differences in the ability of potato plants to recover from drought spells. In addition, she also discovered one specific region in the potato genome that harbors the genes that regulate the response to drought of her potato plants.