Agüimes, Gran Canaria

Excellent climate for corn

KWS has opened a new station for producing doubled-haploid corn on Gran Canaria. The company KWS Semillas Canarias has been in existence since July 2019.

The new location is in the southeast of Gran Canaria. A distinguishing feature is its stable climate all year round.

Growing demand for doubled-haploid (DH) corn lines and the need to centralize production in the European Union are the reasons why the new location has been established. Since 2015, KWS has conducted several breeding tests on Gran Canaria, on Tenerife and in Málaga.

Gran Canaria proved to have many advantages. One of them is the stable climate all year round and generally low precipitation. That makes it easier to control cultivation measures such as irrigation, use of fertilizer and pollination. “The stable temperatures on Gran Canaria allow us to work with three generations per year and a large number of corn maturities, which speeds up production over the entire breeding cycle,” says Carlos Gomes, head of the breeding station. At present, KWS only has one station that can deliver DH corn lines for production in Europe within a year, namely in Peru. The station on Gran Canaria will therefore help reduce the risk of crop failures, too.

“Production at a European location entails a number of advantages, such as the ability to import and export seed quickly,” adds Carlos Gomes. Centralizing production of doubled-haploid corn at a European location will reduce costs per line – and the station is equipped with ideal machines developed specifically for that purpose. That means greater efficiency and lower general costs for running the station. In addition, costs for personnel to perform the high degree of manual work necessary during the flowering period are lower than in many other European countries. Gran Canaria, as one of Spain’s outermost territories, has far lower taxes and grants higher subsidies for research and development. As a result of those subsidies, KWS estimates it can cut its R&D expenditure by up to one-third.

After an intensive search, KWS found an ideal location in Agüimes in the southeast of Gran Canaria. KWS Semillas Ibérica acquired the nine-hectare farm in February 2019. Tomatoes, mangoes and grapefruits used to be grown there. The quality of soil there is good, and the farm has wells with enough water for agricultural operations. The offices, warehouses, irrigation system and greenhouses underwent renovation.

Although the station’s main activity is producing DH corn lines, several other breeding projects are conducted there – including for other crops such as pepper, wheat, rye and pea.

With its team of 40 employees and seasonal workers whose number varies between 10 and 50 depending on the activity in a season, the station is growing continuously. The goal is to produce up to 80,000 DH lines at the station. |

Number of employees: 40 employees, 10 to 50 seasonal workers

Size: 9 hectares

In operation since: 2019

Activities: Research and development, field work

Crops: Corn, sunflower

This article is from insideKWS, the employee magazine of KWS. If you are an employee of our company, you have access to all other articles and previous issues. |

Dieser Artikel stammt aus der KWSintern, dem Mitarbeitermagazin der KWS. Wenn Sie Mitarbeiterin oder Mitarbeiter unseres Unternehmens sind, haben Sie Zugriff auf alle weiteren Artikel und auf frühere Ausgaben. |