The Bundessortenamt is partner in the European INVITE project (INnovations in plants VarIety Testing in Europe) funded by the European Union´s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programm.

The project has two main objectives. On the one hand, the efficiency of plant variety testing systems shall be improved On the other hand, comprehensive information on the characteristics of varieties, taking into account different cultivation conditions and environmental influences, shall be provided. In particular, sustainable management systems and resilience to climatic changes will be in the focus of research.

For the project, ten agricultural species were selected, which are important within the EU, both of breeding new varieties and for food and feed production. These include wheat, maize, perennial ryegrass, potatoes, apple, tomato, sunflower, lucerne, soybean and rapeseed.

The Bundessortenamt will provide data from official variety testing for selected agricultural crops. In addition, the Bundessortenamt will perform project specific field trials with wheat and maize at its own testing stations.

At the end of the five-year project (started in 2019), the developed methods and tools as well as a decision-making system for the selection of varieties will be made available to all interested parties.