Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 5236 I EUROPEAN SEED I EUROPEAN-SEED.COM SPOTLIGHT: SWEDISH SEED TRADE ASSOCIATION IMPORTANT ASSETS FOR ARABLE FARMING A CLOSER LOOK AT SWEDISH PLANT BREEDING AND SEED TRADE BY: MARCEL BRUINS weden is a long and narrow coun- try in the northern part of Europe stretching over several different climatic zones. The growing conditions vary tremendously, from a relatively mild coastal climate in the south to a subarctic climate in the north. The latter comes with a short plant produc- tion period, counted in the number of days, but very intense plant growth with long days with close to 24 hour sunlight. Agriculture and plant production has to adapt to these different climatic condi- tions through careful selection of crops and varieties developed specifically for these different production areas. It is the plant breeders and seed tradespeople who have to ensure that these different requirements are ful- filled to give the farmers access to the best and most adapted varieties for a new and viable crop production season throughout the country. A LONG HISTORY Sweden has a long tradition in plant breeding and variety development. The interest in plant breeding, with the aim of producing hardier and higher yield- ing crops, started to grow in Europe in the later part of 19th century. An entre- preneurial sea captain, as well as farmer, Walfrid Weibull, realised the potential development of new varieties adapted to the local growing conditions. In 1870, he started a plant breeding company in the city of Landskrona in the south of Sweden, which some years later became the limited company W. Weibull AB. With the rediscovery of Gregor Mendel’s theories of inheritance in 1900, the interest of genetics and plant breeding was further intensified and two more com- panies were established: Svalöf AB with breeding programs for a range of different crops, and Hilleshög AB focusing on sugar beet breeding. These three companies have provided a range of new and improved S varieties to Swedish and European farm- ers throughout the 20th century. Today W. Weibull AB and Svalöf AB have merged and are owned by and form a business unit within the company Lantmännen, the Swedish agricultural cooperative, and Hilleshög AB has been acquired by and is now part of the company Syngenta. Apart from the plant breeding compa- nies, a number of dedicated seed companies are established throughout the country, multiplying and certifying seed for trading and sale to farmers. Three of these compa- nies have joined forces and stand behind Scandinavian Seed. Scandinavian Seed is not an active plant breeding company, but represents varieties for the Swedish market, varieties bred and owned by other European plant breeding companies. The total Swedish arable acreage is close to 2.6 million hectares. A larger share of this acreage (1.1 million ha) is used for production of forage crops for silage production as well as grazing. The total acreage of cereal crops is close to 1.0 million ha, where wheat is grown on 460,000 ha, barley on 330,000 ha and oats on 170,000 ha. CHALLENGES AHEAD The challenge for plant breeders and seed companies will be to maintain the future introduction of new and improved varieties suited for all the dif- ferent growing conditions throughout the country. With the expected climatic changes, there will be an extension in the growing period in all parts of the country and the new varieties have to be able to utilise this longer period for productive assimilation and convert this energy into improved yield. The challenge for the northern part of the country will be to find candidate variety types not only adapted to an extended growth period, but also utilise the long day length conditions. Preparation for upcoming Field days/Farm Show in Sweden. Per Henrikson was nominated and took on the position as the Secretary General of the Swedish Seed Trade Association in 2010. (Photo Scandinavian Seed)