From early generations of breeding materials to double haploids, and pure lines to hybrids, all phases and levels of selections, crossings and screening activities and also phytopathology activities will be conducted at this breeding location. In parallel with the start of the breeding activities, the company is establishing Sales and Product Development representation in key growing regions in Turkey. KWS Vegetables has already been expanding its organization by hiring new people in Antalya, which is the heart of the indoor seed market in the country.
“With this acquisition, we are pacing a big first step in vegetable breeding activities in Turkey. I strongly believe that with KWS’s high tech tools in vegetables breeding and with our visioned and well-equipped staff, we will soon be able to deliver competitive varieties in Turkey.” says Remzi Doğan, Head of Breeding Turkey.
Background: New business unit for vegetable seeds
KWS is one of the world’s leading plant breeding companies. With a history of 165 years in the seed industry, the company focuses on plant breeding, and the production and sale of seeds for corn, sugarbeet, cereals, rapeseed and sunflowers. In 2019, the company announced its entry into the long-term growth market for vegetable seeds, based on a greenfield approach which entails organic growth, supplemented by suitable acquisitions and the sales of licensed-in varieties.
This included the acquisition of the Dutch vegetable breeding company Pop Vriend Seeds, a very important player in spinach and beans breeding. In addition, KWS acquired the Italian vegetable seed company Geneplanta S.r.l. (now: KWS Vegetables Italia), a specialist in breeding, production and sales of tomato varieties, in March last year. In parallel, KWS has been concentrating on staffing the new business division as well as on launching its own breeding activities in Brazil, Mexico, and Turkey. The focus is on spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, melons, watermelons, beans, red beet and Swiss chard.
