El Porvenir/Rancagua (Chile)

Summer in winter

100 years after KWS was founded, our first sales location in Chile was established in Rancagua in 1956. In 1985, it became our corn off-season site, and for a long time it remained the only location for the KWS winter nursery programs.

In the European winter, seeds are bred in Chile, where it is summer.

There‘s no time to lose – that is what drove all breeding companies in the 1980s. After all, valuable months elapsed during the cold season until sowing was possible again on domestic trial fields. “Companies were looking for ways to continue their breeding in winter and to produce seed during the off-season,” says Regional Manager Marcos Tapia, who coordinates our breeding services stations in Chile (Rancagua), Argentina and Peru.

KWS initially opted for Florida and Argentina, but these locations turned out not to be suitable for the early germplasm. However, because sales activities for sugarbeet seed had already existed at the former farm “El Porvenir” near Rancagua since 1956, the corn breeders examined the extent to which that location would be suitable for their winter nurseries.

Off-season site for corn and sugarbeet

“The area used was maybe one hectare to begin with,” says Marcos Tapia about the first trials. That figure has now risen to 60 hectares. That is attributable to the fact that the winter nurseries went very well right from the outset, with the result that seed from Europe ended up in fields in the southern hemisphere for trials over the winter months – exclusively in Chile for several years. Since 1996, Rancagua has also been home to our off-season sugarbeet breeding facility.

The country is particularly suitable for these services because, with other conditions, Chile can manage several corn lines with different maturities, from German material to corn materials from France or Southeastern Europe, explains Sebastian Ojeda, General Manager at KWS Chile. A further bonus: “We have four very clearly distinct seasons that match conditions in Europe. In addition, Chile is able to produce GMO-free seeds. We can therefore process seed without impurities and send it back to Europe.” Between December and March in particular, the location becomes a port of call for breeders and technicians who select the material and check the quality of the seed.

Plant for processing of corn seed

Apart from breeding activities, El Porvenir also has a plant for the processing of commercial corn seed produced in winter for the European and national markets. “The plant was an important investment for us since it let us produce and supply commercial seed to Europe that was previously contracted through third parties,” says Marcos Tapia. It allows Rancagua to expand the activities it can offer.

In the meantime, Longaví has been added as another breeding station for corn and vegetables in Chile. The capacities in El Porvenir were no longer sufficient, especially since sunflowers and sorghum are also bred there in addition to corn and sugarbeet. And KWS is also represented in Argentina, were they have their own breeding programs, and, with their longer summer, are also suitable for offering off-season services to later breeding programs (Italy and Serbia, for example). Peru and Brazil, on the other hand, are suitable for multi-season productions. Thus, South America has become a versatile continent for our breeding activities. |