healthier crops start with better varieties and healthy seeds Innovation in seed production and technology promotes sustainable vegetable cultivation and increased harvest security.
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emand for healthy, sustainably produced food, including vegetables and fruit, is rising. Yet growers around the world face a number of challenges. Good agricultural land, water and raw materials are becoming ever scarcer. In many places, climate change is causing less stable growing conditions. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that up to 40% of the world's food crops are lost to disease and pests every year. For sustainable production and better harvest security, professional growers need crops that stay healthy in difficult circumstances. It all starts with strong varieties and strong seeds. Bejo has achieved many innovations in vegetable breeding and seed production and processing in the past couple of decades, and we see plenty of opportunities for more progress ahead. Seed Production Breeding companies like Bejo are constantly looking for ways to improve plant health properties. We’re making progress on new varieties with better resistance to drought and certain diseases and pests. But even when growers have access to strong, disease-resistant varieties, seed quality can make a vast difference. Healthy crops start with healthy seed. The first major factor affecting quality is how seed is produced. Bejo has production sites in various parts of the world. So we can work under the best climate conditions to produce healthy, vigorous seed while limiting risks, such as adverse weather conditions and disease pressure. Our production sites follow strict protocols to ensure quality and plant health, with support from specialist crop consultants and scientists.
Production Research Our seed production researchers look at environmental factors that affect seed quality. For example, we’re interested in epidemiology – the science of how diseases and infestations develop, and how they spread via seeds. Knowing your enemy puts you in a better position to fight it. Furthermore, we look at optimum planting distances for ensuring uniform, shorter flowering periods, leading to more uniform maturing and seed size. This, combined with optimum harvest times and methods, enables us to harvest uniform lots. We have, for example, gained more understanding of the Xanthomonas bacteria’s infection route in plants and seeds. Innovative detection methods enable us to quickly discover the pathogen on site, even when no symptoms can be seen with the naked eye. This gives us more options for control in the production process. To produce high-quality seeds, we select parent lines that produce good pollen and do research to determine the ideal pollination period. We also conduct extensive research on how bees and other insects act as natural pollinators. Seed Technology for a Superior Product After production, we thoroughly test, upgrade and further process all seeds at our Seed Technology Facility in Warmenhuizen, the Netherlands. Seed Analysis and Health Each lot of seeds undergoes an average of 25 tests. We look at characteristics such as purity, moisture content, number of uniform plants (for plant
