Saatgut und Forschung für den Ökologischen Landbau

KWS SAAT AG offers seed of corn, cereals, potato, oil seed rape and sugar beet to organic farmers. The company is orientated towards the needs of its customers and is technically and logistically able to provide organic agriculture with high quality seed produced in accordance with the official organic rules. Besides the supply of seed, the company is conducting research in the areas of breeding, seed treatment and plant production methods focusing on the needs of organic farming. Since 2002, KWS is operating its own organic farm, the KWS Klos-tergut Wiebrechtshausen GmbH, in form of a wholly owned subsidiary

Untersuchungen zur Wirkung von alternativen Saatgutbehandlungsmitteln gegen den Schneeschimmel an Weizen

Der Schneeschimmel (Microdochium nivale) ist eine wichtige samenbürtige Krankheit in der ökologischen Weizen-, Triticale- und Roggenproduktion. Sie führt besonders bei niedrigen Bodentemperaturen zu einem geringeren Feldaufgang. Einige wirksame Saatgutbehandlungen für die ökologische Landwirtschaft wurden bereits gefunden. In der vorliegenden Studie wurden auch neue Saatgutbehandlungen geprüft. In beiden Jahren zeigten die Saatgutbehandlungsmethoden gute Ergebnisse, indem der Feldaufgang verbessert wurde. Die beste Ergebnisse zeigte die Warmwasserbehandlung

Gibt es bei Körnererbsen Sortenunterschiede in der Anfälligkeit gegenüber bodenbürtigen Krankheiten?

Soil borne diseases cause damage in production of peas on many organic farms. Several varieties and breeding lines from Czech Republic and the United States were compared with German varieties in naturally infected soils. Because of very dry weather conditions a field trial with spring peas did not show diseases. In pot trials some varieties with colored flowers (containing tannine) and some winter peas were included in the trials. Some genotypes showed a tendency to a lower level of infection and to higher plant weights compared to plants grown in soil being treated with heat. But in most cases there were no statistic significances. Nevertheless there is a potential for plant breeding to develop peas varieties with a better tolerance against soil borne diseases. Differential diagnosis can be used for testing varieties

Untersuchungen zur Wirkung von alternativen Saatgutbehandlungsmitteln gegen die Netzfleckenkrankheit der Gerste

Die Netzfleckenkrankheit der Gerste (Drechslera teres) ist eine wichtige samenbürtige Krankheit im der ökologischen Sommergerstenproduktion. Einige wirksame Saatgutbehandlungen für die ökologische Landwirtschaft wurden bereits gefunden. Essigsäure als neue Saatgutbehandlung war die wirksamste Behandlung in den Versuchen, die von 2007 bis 2009 stattfanden. Die Reduzierung der Wassermenge von 4 auf 2 Liter pro 100 kg Saatgut in der Ethanol-Behandlung (70%)führte zu einer geringeren Wirkung. Diese Wirkung konnte durch den Einsatz von Haftmitteln nicht verbessert werden. Die Methode der Ethanol-Behandlung hatte eine sichtbare Wirkung auf den Krankheitsbefall. Saatgut, das direkt nach der Behandlung getrocknet wurde, zeigte einen höheren Befall mit Netzflecken als Saatgut, das nach der Behandlung langsamer getrocknet wurde

Understanding the sugar beet holobiont for sustainable agriculture

The importance of crop-associated microbiomes for the health and field performance of plants has been demonstrated in the last decades. Sugar beet is the most important source of sucrose in temperate climates, and—as a root crop—yield heavily depends on genetics as well as on the soil and rhizosphere microbiomes. Bacteria, fungi, and archaea are found in all organs and life stages of the plant, and research on sugar beet microbiomes contributed to our understanding of the plant microbiome in general, especially of microbiome-based control strategies against phytopathogens. Attempts to make sugar beet cultivation more sustainable are increasing, raising the interest in biocontrol of plant pathogens and pests, biofertilization and –stimulation as well as microbiome-assisted breeding. This review first summarizes already achieved results on sugar beet-associated microbiomes and their unique traits, correlating to their physical, chemical, and biological peculiarities. Temporal and spatial microbiome dynamics during sugar beet ontogenesis are discussed, emphasizing the rhizosphere formation and highlighting knowledge gaps. Secondly, potential or already tested biocontrol agents and application strategies are discussed, providing an overview of how microbiome-based sugar beet farming could be performed in the future. Thus, this review is intended as a reference and baseline for further sugar beet-microbiome research, aiming to promote investigations in rhizosphere modulation-based biocontrol options

Vogelfrass-Abwehr durch Saatgutbehandlung mit Pflanzenextrakten

Damages of planted seed and emerged seedlings caused by birds represent a significant problem in organic farming since there is no chemical repellent available. Bird attack often leads to reduced emergence and yield decrease. In the course of a perennial cooperation project 30 different plant extracts were systematically checked on the ability to prevent bird damage. Corn seed was applied with different extracts and tested via choice trials (seed and seedling) in aviaries. This screening resulted in detection of repellent effective extracts, whereby combined application of several extracts increased the positive activity. Accompanying tests showed no negative impacts of the extract application on seed quality (germination, vigour). First field trials (pheasants, crows) confirmed the aviaries results. Nevertheless long term effectiveness of the extracts in the field is still challenging. A new project (DevelOPAR) was initiated to further improve extract formulation and application technology. Extensive field trials are scheduled

DevelOPAR – Projekt zur Entwicklung eines pflanzlichen Vogelrepellent für den Praxiseinsatz

DevelOPAR - Project for development of a plant extract based avian repellent for practic

Complete genome sequence of Pseudomonas corrugata strain RM1-1-4, a stress protecting agent from the rhizosphere of an oilseed rape bait plant

Abstract Pseudomonas corrugata strain RM1-1-4 is a rhizosphere colonizer of oilseed rape. A previous study has shown that this motile, Gram-negative, non-sporulating bacterium is an effective stress protecting and biocontrol agent, which protects their hosts against abiotic and biotic stresses. Here, we announce and describe the complete genome sequence of P. corrugata RM1-1-4 consisting of a single 6.1 Mb circular chromosome that encodes 5189 protein coding genes and 85 RNA-only encoding genes. Genome analysis revealed genes predicting functions such as detoxifying mechanisms, stress inhibitors, exoproteases, lipoproteins or volatile components as well as rhizobactin siderophores and spermidine. Further analysis of its genome will help to identify traits promising for stress protection, biocontrol and plant growth promotion properties

Catch the Best: Novel Screening Strategy to Select Stress Protecting Agents for Crop Plants

Climate change increases stress levels for crops and affects the economic and environmental aspects of agricultural management systems. The application of stress tolerance-mediating microorganisms is an auspicious strategy for improving crop protection, and as such, we developed a direct selection strategy to obtain cultivable microorganisms from promising bioresources using the bait plants, maize, oilseed rape, sorghum and sugar beet. Alpine mosses, lichens and primrose were selected as bioresources, as each is adapted to adverse environmental conditions. A 10% crop-specific selection was found for bait plant rhizosphere communities using cultivation-independent fingerprints, and their potential role as stress protecting agents (SPA) was evaluated following the cultivation of captured bacteria. In addition to assays identifying phytopathogen antagonism and plant growth promotion capacities, our evaluation included those that test the ability to allocate nutrients. Moreover, we developed new assays to measure tolerance in diverse stress conditions. A score scheme was applied to select SPAs with desired properties, and three Pseudomonas species with pronounced antagonistic activity that showed elevated tolerance to desiccation and an improved seed germination rate were subsequently chosen. Screening for environmentally-conditioned and host-adapted microorganisms provides a novel tool for target-oriented exploitation of microbial bioresources for the management of ecofriendly crops facing biotic and abiotic stresses