Cultivars

Cultivars suited for organic agriculture originate from organic plant breeding. 

Organic plant breeding takes a holistic approach in which selection takes place under certified organic conditions, breeding techniques and methods are in line with the principles of organic farming, and breeding aims to establish a viable relationship between plant and living soil and climate. 

Bioverita lists organic breeders in Europe and cultivars from organic plant breeding:

• Vegetable varieties
• Cereal, maize and fodder plant varieties

Engagement.Biobreeding maps organic breeding initiatives in Europe. This geographic mapping provides an overview of the present breeding activities with the objective to improve the exchange between initiatives on European level and to identify breeding gaps.

Organic plant breeding is more than the absence of products of genetic engineering. 

Organic breeding respects the integrity of genome, cell and natural reproductive ability. Therefore, the use of varieties that have been bred pollen sterile by cell fusion (CMS) is not in line with the organic principles.

Organic farming associations collaborate to publish anually a common list of cell fusion free brassicae, including cultivars of cabbage, chicory, radicchio types and sugar loaf.