Hybrid rye and more

Very good soils, a mild microclimate unlike anywhere else in Poland and the largest number of trial areas in the country: These are ideal conditions for Station Manager Jaroslaw Wilk and his 14-strong team. The station has around 150 hectares of land at its disposal for breeding and testing activities on the fields of partner farms throughout Poland – including in regions with a continental or maritime climate.

Around half of this area is currently used for hybrid rye. The focus is primarily on breeding restorer lines as part of the Central European rye breeding program. In this respect, too, the village is an ideal location, as no one apart from KWS grows rye there. This prevents cross-pollination and allows hybrid rye to be bred and seed to be produced under isolated conditions. Most of rye hybrids currently contain at least one component developed in Kondratowice.

Even though rye is still the main crop at the breeding station, testing corn, oilseed rape, wheat and barley is just as important. Jaroslaw moved from rye breeding to the Breeding Service in 2021. In this position, he keeps track of all activities supporting breeding across the whole range of crops at a total of 18 locations in Poland. In 2022, he additionally took over responsibility for the entire corn trial network in Poland which had previously been managed from Klein Wanzleben. “I like this diversity and international exchange.”

At the heart of the station in Kondratowice stands a stately castle that until 1999 housed the agricultural company KonRolPasz, a farm that also reared cattle. KWS took over the farm and many of its employees. A technician from back then is now Jaroslaw’s deputy. Today, around 70 people are employed in breeding, farming, sales, logistics and seed production. Rye, wheat and barley are mainly produced for the Polish market, but also for Spain, Denmark, Lithuania, Estonia, Austria and Sweden.

The main season for Jaroslaw and his team is from May to November, while in winter the work shifts to the greenhouses. Up to 50 seasonal workers are employed in Kondratowice during the annual peak period. They are difficult to find in a rural area far away from large cities. “Fortunately, we have people who’ve been coming to us for years,” says Jaroslaw. These bonds are particularly crucial during the flowering period. After all: “The plants won’t wait.”