Leading Plant Breeder Is All-In on New Technology and Varieties Programs
June 26, 2020 
It’s been quite a month for Dümmen Orange. One of the leading global plant breeders, Dümmen Orange has made several commitments this June, including a new technology center and new way to offer variety information.
Investing In Technology
Dümmen’s new Breeding Technology Centre in the Netherlands virtually opened in June. The Breeding Technology Centre (BTC) is home to all Dümmen Orange’s research facilities in the field of breeding technology and traits to realize faster breeding and selection processes, enabling access to superior products for customers worldwide. The BTC is also the home for scientists and breeders who jointly develop next-generation varieties in a smarter way. It houses laboratories, offices, meeting rooms, climate chambers, and greenhouse facilities for all research disciplines.
The opening was conducted virtually due to COVID-19, and is the final chapter of an 18-month construction period in which Dümmen Orange realized one of the world’s largest laboratories for ornamental research.
Carola Schouten, the Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, contributed to the occasion with a personal video message: “I hope your new research center is only the first of many more sustainable steps in breeding. If you continue to increase the natural resistance of flowers and plants, the need for chemicals and other additives can be reduced significantly. Ultimately, this benefits the entire ornamental horticulture sector.”
The impact of a trait and technology program is huge, according to Hugo Noordhoek Hegt, CEO of Dümmen Orange.
“It brings us next generation varieties with unique traits, and it enables next generation breeding,” Hegt says. “We are thankful for the commitment of our shareholders to realize this investment so we can help our customers and the value chain faster and with better, more beautiful and more sustainable products.”
A Virtual Varieties Garden
Dümmen Orange is also showcasing its latest products in bedding plants, perennials, potted plants, and tropical plants in a digital garden. The show gardens in De Kwakel, the Netherlands and in Rheinberg, Germany, will be open to all visitors through the summer.
The company has also created a digital tour of both show gardens. During the digital tour, viewers can watch product specialists presenting their favorites for the coming season, along with other new introductions and retail solutions. The digital garden can be visited here. Choose a country at the top and navigate in the menu to ‘Tools For You’ and click on ‘Digital Garden.’
New Rose Partnership
Finally, Dümmen and ProRoot, a breeder of rose rootstocks, have signed an agreement for collaboration in Kenya to strengthen the market position of revolutionary varieties and rose rootstock even further. The agreement grants Dümmen Orange full licensing for the propagation of ProRoot rootstocks on its existing genetics, as well as on the genetics of breeders currently represented by Dümmen Orange in Kenya. It allows growers to choose from a broad range of high-quality
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