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SOYBEAN

Soybean. Bred for our latitude.

Northwest Europe is our breeding target. Since 2010, we have worked to bring maturity, standing ability and harvestable yield together in grain soybean adapted to our growing season.

Glycine maxGrain soybeanProgramme since 2010
Mature grain soybean plants in a PROTISEM trial in Belgium.

The right soybean for Northwest Europe starts with the climate it must grow in. Day length, the available season and the timing of maturity shape our breeding decisions from the first cross.

We use advanced genomics to predict, understand and follow useful genetic variation. Sequence information and markers help us choose crosses and guide selection for the next generation.

Then we go to the field. Our trials in Belgium show how the material establishes, branches, stands and matures under real growing conditions. Those observations guide the next selection and the next cross. Genomic predictions become useful when the plants deliver in the field.

Our goal is a future variety that fits the grower’s season: timely maturity, strong standing ability, protein and harvestable yield. That is the focus of our grain soybean programme.

Glycine soja × Glycine max: widening the genetic starting point for Northwest European soybean.

Crossing wild and cultivated soybean brings new variation into the programme. We explore that variation for maturity and plant architecture, then select towards the standing ability and grain quality a grower needs.

Genomics helps us follow the inherited variation. Field selection shows which combinations deserve another generation. The hybrid material below is part of that search; these are breeding populations, not finished varieties.

Branching and pod distribution in soybean breeding material.
Plant architectureBranching and pod distribution in soybean breeding material.
Inspecting the architecture and pod-bearing branches of an individual plant.
Selection, plant by plantInspecting the architecture and pod-bearing branches of an individual plant.
A close view of flowering soybean material.
Flowering detailA close view of flowering soybean material.
A second view of the plant during selection.
Following the branchesA second view of the plant during selection.
Look closer: flowering detail
Flower clusters photographed in the breeding material.
A closer viewFlower clusters photographed in the breeding material.
FROM OUR FIELDS

A season in our soybean fields.

Grain soybean plants carrying mature pods.
At maturityGrain soybean plants carrying mature pods.
Field evaluation in Belgium.
Selection in the fieldField evaluation in Belgium.
The soybean canopy beneath an approaching weather front.
Under changing skiesThe soybean canopy beneath an approaching weather front.
Soybean foliage during the growing season.
Canopy developmentSoybean foliage during the growing season.
A field view near sunset.
Evening in the cropA field view near sunset.
Mature soybean viewed from within the rows.
Towards harvestMature soybean viewed from within the rows.
More from the mature crop
Mature pod-bearing plants against the sky.
Plant silhouetteMature pod-bearing plants against the sky.
A closer look at mature plants in the field.
The standing cropA closer look at mature plants in the field.
FROM AMBITION TO A BREEDING PLAN

Planning soybean for Northwest Europe?

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