Breeders at NORDSAAT have a wide genetic variability at their disposal, which is used as the basis to develop new high-yield varieties.

Selecting the young breeding material under different environmental conditions is another important aspect in the targeted development of varieties. The selection of varieties with quick growth, excellent stability and balanced resistance properties plays a huge role.

NORDSAAT can fall back upon an extensive national and international testing network for testing all important agronomic properties spread over several years.

The positively selected breeding cultures are tested for their ingredients in our own quality laboratory in Böhnshausen. Classical and new plant breeding methods are used in the processing of every breeding stage.

NORDSAAT has contributed towards the development of new methods and applied these methods in breeding practices using modern breeding techniques.

These primarily include:

• Tissue culture for producing homozygous double haploid lines.
• Screening methods under outdoor conditions (“high throughput” screening), especially for selecting resistances against the most important diseases.
• High-efficiency testing technique, especially the satellite-controlled field testing technique (GPS).