Our vision on plant breeding

De Bolster is a specialist in breeding varieties for organic cultivation. Every day, our creative breeders enthusiastically devise crosses that make existing crops even more resilient, productive and flavorful. Below, we tell you more about our vision for developing new varieties for successful organic cultivation.

Classical plant breeding

Our plants grow exclusively in the soil, receive a tailored amount of water and nutrients, and we do not use chemical pesticides or artificial fertilizers. Our breeding consists of observation, crossing and selection. Observation helps us recognize plants with desired traits (such as taste, shape, color and resistance to diseases and pests). After this, crosses are made between different selected plants and we harvest the seeds from them. By doing this for successive plant generations, we move step by step closer to varieties with the best characteristics. In this way, robust, powerful and productive varieties emerge that are extremely suitable for growing under organic conditions. We carry out this entire process in close consultation with the organic growers for whom we develop these varieties.

Organic varieties

Not every variety is suitable for organic cultivation, where growing conditions are much more challenging than in conventional cultivation. De Bolster wants to make organic cultivation accessible to everyone and therefore exclusively sells ‘organic varieties’: varieties that can ‘take a punch’ and are suitable for cultivation in the soil, where climate, water and nutrients are less manageable. All varieties in our range have been carefully tested for this and have proven to perform well under organic growing conditions. For example, in our tomato breeding program, we breed for varieties with a strong root system where the plants give a high yield even without rootstock. And with pumpkin, the varieties are bred for good yield at low nitrogen levels.

Open-pollinated or hybrid?

We are regularly asked about the difference between open-pollinated and hybrid varieties, and we are happy to explain that. When seeds from an open-pollinated plant are harvested and sown, offspring grow from them that are virtually identical to the parent plant. This makes these varieties easy to reproduce. When you cross two open-pollinated plants, the seed you harvest is a hybrid variety.

To create a hybrid you need the two parent lines. This cross-pollination could also have occurred spontaneously in nature. The advantages of deliberate cross-pollination are that you can combine the good characteristics of two plants and that you can make faster progress towards better varieties. Our goal is to develop the best varieties for organic growers. For some crops, open-pollinated varieties are very suitable; for other crops, hybrid varieties are necessary to combine the desired plant characteristics.

GMO-free

All breeding at De Bolster is carried out using ‘classical’ techniques. Our varieties are 100% organic and guaranteed free of genetic modification (GMO). With genetic modification, the DNA of the variety is artificially interfered with; a technique we are strongly opposed to. We use only the natural characteristics of the plant and do not resort to new genetic technologies. The latest technique ‘CRISPR-cas9’ also does not fit into our organic vision.

Patent-free

At De Bolster we believe that organic vegetables should be accessible to everyone worldwide: fairly and consciously produced, with care and respect for nature and for each other. From that conviction, we have also fought for years against patents on natural properties. No person or multinational should be allowed to own properties that simply occur in nature, and we will continue to oppose this. All our varieties are therefore free of patents.

Experience the difference!

In recent years, De Bolster has successfully developed various organic varieties for both hobby gardeners and professional growers. In the meantime, we are working steadily on new varieties that are needed for the future. Experience the difference of De Bolster’s organic varieties for yourself.

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