The varieties of cereals, oil crops and legumes bred in our knowledge centre, have adapted to grow in our conditions. They have already been tested for a long time before taking the variety sheet, so no negative surprises are expected in terms of yield, winter and disease resistance, and other characteristics.
Varietal breeding is a process that is time-consuming and requires people with the necessary knowledge and skills, appropriate equipment for laboratories, special tools for experiments in the fields, processing and storage of crops. On average, breeding one variety takes 10-15 years and costs about one million euros.
The universal principles in the breeding of different cultures are their suitability for Estonian conditions and adaptation to changing environmental conditions (plant pest resistance, winter and drought resistance, etc.), as well as more environmentally friendly production with less input.
During the economic cultivation value tests, the economic indicators of the variety in Estonian climate conditions, i.e. susceptibility to diseases, winter hardiness, quality characteristics and yield, are compared with other most cultivated varieties. If the new variety is better than the previous ones, it is taken into the variety sheet.
Liina Jakobson
Head of Department
Department of Plant Breeding
Last updated: 29.05.2025
