Averis Seeds B.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Avebe, will be working together with hybrid potato breeding company Solynta on the hybrid breeding of starch potato varieties. Hybrid breeding facilitates significantly faster development of new, sustainable potato varieties compared to conventional breeding.

Hybrid breeding is an important accelerator for making starch potato cultivation more sustainable because it allows for a faster response to challenges such as changing weather conditions and potato diseases that constantly adapt to resistances. Growing better varieties faster reduces the need for crop protection products, and yields can be increased while using fertilizers more effectively.

“Now that we can see the successful results of hybrid breeding, the time has come to use this technique for breeding starch potato varieties as well,” says Johan Hopman, breeding and research manager at Averis.

Hybrid Breeding

For over 12 years, Solynta has been working on obtaining hybrid true potato seed, a technical revolution that enables faster breeding. Hybrid breeding makes it possible to better control the progress of varietal properties. Naturally occurring properties such as resistance to drought, pests and diseases can be quickly introgressed. The result is a significantly shorter development process and faster progress with the properties that are of value to growers.

“This collaboration brings together Averis’s specific knowledge of properties and genetics for starch potato cultivation with Solynta’s hybrid breeding platform, creating a continuous stream of ever-improving varieties for Avebe's growers,” says Solynta director or research and development Edwin van der Vossen.

About Royal Avebe

Royal Avebe is a cooperative of 2,300 arable farmers in the Netherlands and Germany. Each year, the starch potatoes of those members are processed into high-grade ingredients based on potato starch and protein; they add value to food products but also to industrial applications worldwide. Avebe works continuously on developing new opportunities and applications based on starch potatoes and is focused on sustainable continuity. The company has 1,300 employees and production sites in the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden and sales offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia. For information about Avebe, visit www.avebe.com.

About Solynta

Solynta is a hybrid potato breeding company in Wageningen, Netherlands. The company develops superior (non-GM) hybrid true potato seeds (HTPS) using its hybrid breeding platform. This results in faster breeding, much faster scalability, higher yields and less use of crop protection products. For more information visit www.solynta.com.