Variety development by ReinSaat

Open-polinating varieties for organic cultivation

For meanwhile 20 years, ReinSaat® has stood for a particularly diversified offer of open-pollinated seeds from organic and biodynamic cultivation. In addition to the propagation, treatment and marketing of seeds, the breeding of new varieties as well as the development of traditional varieties is a key pillar of the company's operational activities.

Breeding for professional gardeners

The breeding work at ReinSaat® is aimed at introducing high-yielding varieties for organic farming onto the market. Criteria such as the plant stability, health, earliness, taste and properties which are appealing to customers are taken into account for the development of new varieties for the professional horticulture.

In line with the principles of biodynamic plant breeding, particular focus is placed on the growth, resistance and health of the plants. Moreover, their flavour is also regarded as a central quality feature.

Well-known plant breeding methods are applied in order to achieve these breeding objectives. The plants are specifically selected from large stocks, and offspring of individual plants which specifically complies with the desired type and essential characteristics is grown. In spite of a certain variability of the population variety, maximum homogeneity of the variety is obtained in this way.

Moreover, the various interactions of the plant with its environment are consistently taken into account already during the breeding process. The continuous cultivation on site results in an evolution. The plants are continuously adapted to site conditions such as soil and climate as well as growing conditions. In this way, robust varieties which fulfil the requirements placed on organic farming can emerge.

Peppers, tomatoes and other successful varieties
 

At the beginning of the breeding efforts, pepper and pepperoni varieties of gene bank materials were cultivated, rediscovered and further developed during numerous trials. Numerous varieties such as the pointed pepper Sweet Palena or the bell pepper Cubo orange are meanwhile available on the market. The assortment is complemented by a diversified offer of pepperoni and chilli varieties ranging from mild to hot.

The development of new tomato varieties is also of particular interest. Especially in the case of tomatoes, the requirements placed on commercial vegetable cultivation are particularly high. The emphasis is placed not only on yields, stability, resistance to diseases and shelf life, but also on the aroma of the fruits.

Our latest cocktail tomato MiriMiri is a variety which meets all these requirements in an exceptional way. It develops resistant plants which bring forward a variety of oval to round red fruits with an intense, fruity taste that convince with a long shelf life and pressure resistance.

Particular emphasis was placed on developing a variety with aromatic fruits which is especially suited for the cultivation and commercialization in the field of professional horticulture when breeding the salad tomato Revilla. In this way, a variety with firmly fleshed, juicy and attractive chestnut red fruits was created.

With the variety Andor we also succeeded in introducing a white cabbage variety with a particularly good flavour onto the market. With its densely filled heads, a fine-ribbed structure and a short inner stalk, it distinguishes itself through excellent good processing quality.

Since an offer of open-pollinated varieties barely exists for certain vegetable varieties such as the Chinese cabbage, the development of new varieties for organic farming as an alternative to hybrid seeds is of great importance. Our company has been working towards this goal for several years, in order to enable us to complement our assortment in the near future by new and tasty Chinese cabbage varieties.
 

Participative plant breeding
 

Our breeding works are for the most part carried out at our Demeter operation located in St. Leonhard am Hornerwald in the Waldviertel where the soils and the climate place high demands on the plants. However, we strive to also incorporate our propagation companies in the variety development. The compact ribbed chard Jessica was created during a particularly successful project in cooperation with Fred Holzer at his farming operation in the Eferding Basin. A chard variety which has proven suitable for horticultural use could thus be developed over a period of more than ten years in an extremely good vegetable growing area. On account of its taste, optical appearance as well as its bolt resistance, health and a good weight this chard meets all requirements of professional vegetable cultivation.


With our long-standing experience in the field of biodynamic vegetable cultivation and diligent breeding works we can contribute to paving the way for a sustainable organic agriculture.