Bretagne plants

Station de Création de Variétés Kerloï - Ploudaniel
29260 Ploudaniel
Phone : 02.98.83.62.87
Fax : 02.98.83.74.32
E-mail : bretplants@plantsdebretagne.com
Web : www.plantsdebretagne.com

In 1970, the seed potato growers of Brittany decided to build a station to breed new varieties. Established at Kerloï in the commune of Ploudaniel, in an area very favourable for the maintenance of good plant health conditions, this station focuses its research on four types of varieties :- early varieties for export;

• early varieties for export;
• washable and good taste quality varieties;
• firm-fleshed varieties;
• processing varieties for crisping and chipping uses.

The work of selection starts from the 60 000 sowings carried out each year. To achieve this task, the station has the following facilities :400 m² of greenhouse space for growing parental plants for hybridization;

• 800 m² of greenhouse space for propagation and transplanting;
• 1 storeroom (conditioning - refrigerating);
• 1 laboratory for various tests (cooking - transformation);
• 20 ha of farmland, supplemented by exchanges with nearby growers that allow the planting out of 10 ha potatoes (yield - propagation).

In addition, the hybrids are tested on 17 experimental sites in France and abroad. The station also jointly breeds new varieties (co-breeding) with a network of partners (growers, co-operatives, seed potato grower associations) who implement the propagation and selection of tubers resulting from crossings carried out at the station.

The work of the station is particularly directed towards the breeding of new varieties possessing disease-resistant characteristics. Blight is the principal target, without forgetting common scab and nematodes. In this field, the station benefits from the support of the INRA stations at Ploudaniel and Rennes-Le Rheu, as well as assistance from the Bretagne-Plants station at HANVEC regarding tests for disease resistance.

La station bénéficie dans ce domaine de l'appui des stations de l'INRA de Ploudaniel et de Rennes - Le Rheu ainsi que du concours de la stations Bretagne-Plants de Hanvec pour les tests de résistance aux maladies.

Principal new varieties developed at the Kerloï Station

Co-bred :

Délice : (with Coopagri), early
Europa : (with Mr Alexis Person ), early, excellent presentation
Océania : (with Coopagri), chipping use
Odessa : (with Mr Raoul Marcel), washable ware potato
Ondine : (with Mr Raoul Marcel and Ets. Bigot), early
Starlette : (with Mr André Guillerm), early

Other than co-bred :

Alaska : early variety for export
Eden : washable ware potato, very good resistance to blight
Elodie : early variety for export
Emeraude : washable ware potato
Eole : washable ware potato
Frégate : washable ware potato
Justine : washable ware potato, early maturity
Naturella : good resistance to blight
Rubis : fine/excellent red early variety for export