From selection to cultivation with the support of all stakeholders: first registration in France of two bread wheat varieties after VCU in organic farming system

Summary

As bread wheat is the most important cash crops for French organic farmers, the question of the kind of varieties farmers should be using is therefore very important. Most of varieties available were bred for intensive “conventional” farming systems (with high inputs of mineral fertilizers and pesticides), also screening current varieties for organic conditions becomes a necessity to identifiy suitable varieties for organic farming conditions in a short term experiment. After 20 years of selection and screening combined in two different crop management systems, low inputs and organic, two lines, Hendrix and Skerzzo, have been registered in the official catalogue with the special mention « organic farming ». For the second year of seed production, 150 hectares were sown in autumn 2013 to be sell to organic farmers in 2014. This successful process was possible with the support of all the agricultural organic sector associated in the initiative.