KWS and the Universitiy of Hohenheim establish an endowed chair for plant breeding – Unique in Europe: new discipline ”Breeding Informatics” boosts use of biodiversity

On the occasion of its 150th anniversary, KWS SAAT AG, together with the University of Hohenheim, will establish an Endowed Chair. The foundation of the Chair is designed to strengthen the university’s leading position in research and teaching in the field of plant breeding and to expand the university to become an international “Center of Excellence”.

For almost 50 years, KWS has established a strong relationship to the former Institute for Plant Breeding and the “Landessaatzuchtanstalt” at the University of Hohenheim, based on the cooperation with Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. F. Wolfgang Schnell. “The research and teaching area of the University of Hohenheim is, to date, an important partner in training qualified scientists and in joint research programs”, stated Dr. Andreas J. Büchting, Chairman of the KWS Executive Board . The excellent collaboration for many years “is one of the major success factors of KWS.”

“We are extremely pleased that the valuable cooperation has acquired a fresh quality with the new Chair. At the same time, we are paving the way for a new research direction that is to date unique in Europe”, stated the Rector of the University of Hohenheim, Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Liebig. The aim is to increasingly open up breeding to new informatic methods in order to benefit from the huge natural variety of crops. “We have been tracking the spadework to this in several pilot projects. The KWS Endowed Chair enables this research field to be occupied permanently and in its full breadth”.

Consolidate Competitiveness

The “F. W. Schnell Endowed Chair for Crop Diversity and Breeding Informatics” will further consolidate the university’s international competitiveness in the field of plant breeding. “We have every confidence in the performance of the area at the University both in the German and international academic landscape”, emphasises Dr. Günter Strittmatter, Head of Research and Breeding at KWS. The Chair is a significant contribution toward making research and teaching in the field of plant breeding more attractive to students, from both home and abroad. According to Dr. Strittmatter, the University of Hohenheim offers the company the “best prerequisites” for this future task.

Diversity and Breeding Informatics the Point of Interest

The main focus will be on the areas of crop diversity and breeding informatics – “two areas whose results will significantly influence the success in reaching new breeding goals, for ensuring a sustainable use of natural resources on our planet”,stresses Dr. Strittmatter. At the same time, these issues facilitate a large number of co-operations at national and international level.

Endowed Chair Secured Long Term

KWS and the University of Hohenheim will each defray half of the expenses for staff and materials for the Chair over a total period of eight years. The University has agreed to continue the Chair for a minimum of a further eight years.

KWS is one of the world’s leading plant breeding companies with ongoing activities in 70 countries. Approximately 2.600 people are employed in the KWS Group, mainly in Europe and North America. The product range encompasses new sugar beet, maize and cereal seed varieties and also oil seeds. KWS has been an independently family-owned company for the past 150 years.

The University of Hohenheim features Germany’s largest leading Agricultural Sciences faculty with 50 professors, 1.545 undergraduate and 350 postgraduate students. One of the key disciplines is Life Sciences within the scope of the food chain and also subjects such as bio-energy and renewable ressources. A current benchmarking exercise by the Scientific Council has rated research at the university as “the broadest and best linked”, teaching as “the most comprehensive” and transfer into the economy as “exemplary”. (“Recommendations on Developing Agricultural Sciences “ 2006).

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