On the trail of fungal resistance

Perseverance and growth – that’s how you could describe Dietmar Stahl’s thirty-plus years at KWS. With his degree in biochemistry, Dietmar likes to get to the bottom of things. Even during his studies, he asked himself: How can I investigate and understand the development of plant diseases at the molecular level? As chance would have it, in 1992 KWS was looking for a scientist for its then biotechnology subsidiary PLANTA – a molecular biologist who would establish biotechnological research for developing plants that are resistant to fungus.

“My initial task was to develop late blight-resistant potatoes using genetic engineering methods. I initially set about that on my own, then later with three colleagues. I’ve been working with two of them for more than 30 years,” says Dietmar. Projects relating to the development of fungus-resistant oilseed rape, sugarbeet, wheat and corn plants were added later. Dietmar led a team of 15 people before areas of research and development underwent reorganization in 2016. Since then, he has been working on improving fungal resistance using the latest genome editing technology.

“My motto at work is: I’ll do anything – provided it has to do with fungal resistance in plants,” says the 62-year-old with a smile. “KWS has given me the opportunity to develop into an international expert in this field. My scientific interest and the entrepreneurial focus of KWS have been a really good match over all the decades.”

But Dietmar’s commitment is not confined to fungal resistance: From 2008 to 2012, he served as an employee representative on KWS’ Supervisory Board, safeguarding the interests of his colleagues. “I am still very grateful to this day for the trust they placed in me.”

How to sum up more than 30 years with the company? “KWS gives us enough time to implement our projects. That’s why I had the opportunity to work successfully on very long-term research projects. Together with my team, I developed three technical approaches for developing potatoes that are resistant to late blight and fungus. I’m very proud of this genetic engineering work, which could also be applied to other KWS crops. Getting there was not without its challenges, but we overcame them as a team with perseverance and creativity.”

Tapping into knowledge, solving problems

Dietmar is also proud to have accompanied other people on their journey at KWS – from their application to management positions. The commitment and professionalism of his team members inspire him. “Two tips for all new colleagues: There’s nothing that doesn’t already exist at KWS – you just have to find it. We have many experienced employees. It’s worth listening around to find out if there’s any knowledge you can draw on before reinventing the wheel. And: Every biotechnological problem can be solved – it’s just a question of time, money and creativity.”|