Descriptive Variety Lists are published by the Federal Plant Variety Office and can be ordered from the following address:
To place an order, please use our order form for Descriptive Variety Lists and VCU Testing Guidelines.
The following titles are published regularly and can be ordered or downloaded in PDF format:
- Cereals, maize, oil and fibre plants, legumes, beets, catch crops
- Potatoes
- Forage grasses, sainfoin, clover, lucerne
- Turf grasses
The following Descriptive Variety Lists are published at irregular intervals and/or are no longer available in print, with a few exceptions. They are available to download as a PDF document:
- Strawberries (2015)
- Vines (2015)
- Raspberries, blackberries (2006)
- Medicinal and aromatic plants (2002)
- Cane fruit: red currants, gooseberries, jostaberries (2002)
- Root vegetables, bulb vegetables, brassica vegetables, pulses (2001)
- Pome fruit: apples, pears (2000)
- Wild fruit varieties (1999)
- Fruiting vegetables, leaf vegetables (1997)
- Stone fruit: plums, sweet cherries, sour cherries (1997)
Cereals, maize, oil and fibre plants, legumes, beets, catch crops
The Descriptive Variety List on cereals, maize, oil and fibre plants, legumes, beets, catch crops is published every year.
The varieties are listed in tables providing detailed information on their cultivation, resistance, quality and yield properties. Further components of the variety list are the multiplication areas over the past years, details on diseases and quality, as well as diagrams on cultivation areas and yields, and diagrams relating to the cultivation areas in the federal states. There is an additional chapter on various conservation varieties.
Potatoes
The Descriptive Variety List on potatoes is published every year.
There is an alphabetical variety list detailing all varieties listed in Germany. This also includes varieties registered in another European Union country, from which plant material can be marketed in Germany, and which have a certain importance in Germany (EU varieties).
Following details on resistance and susceptibility, the conservation and quality properties are described and set out according to use, insofar as official German tests provide enough information to give a description for the varieties.
The following details provided are tables on tuber characteristics, multiplication areas over the past years, as well as diagrams providing details on cultivation areas and yields, and diagrams relating to the cultivation areas in the federal states. There is an additional chapter on conservation varieties.
Forage grasses, sainfoin, clover, lucerne
The Descriptive Variety List on forage grasses, sainfoin, clover, lucerne is published every two years.
Introductory general information on the relevant variety is provided followed by tables giving an overview of the varieties, in which the varieties are described in detail according to their resistance and conservation properties, as well as the properties significant for their use as fodder. Following these variety overviews, there is a diagram detailing the time and duration of the ear emergence and panicle emergence for forage grasses.
Turf grasses
The Descriptive Variety List on turf grasses is published every two years.
Introductory general information on the relevant variety is provided followed by tables giving an overview of the varieties, in which the varieties are described in detail according to their general properties, as well as their properties relating to their suitability for home use, sports use, close mowing lawns, ornamental lawns and low maintenance lawns.
Strawberries
The Descriptive Variety List on strawberries is published only occasionally.
Introductory general points on strawberries are given followed by a table providing an overview of varieties, in which varieties are described according to their morphological, resistance and yield properties.
A diagram provides details on the blooming period and ripeness for consumption for the varieties in question. Then, descriptions of each variety are provided, which are supplemented with representative illustrations.
The Descriptive Variety List is intended to provide information for commercial growers, advisors, teachers and learners in the fruit sector, home and allotment gardeners and consumers in terms of the properties of varieties, as well as offer an overview of the diversity of the varieties and help with the process of selecting a variety.
The most recent edition was published in 2015.
Vines
The Descriptive Variety List on vines is published occasionally.
The Descriptive Variety List contains the description of all yield, rootstock and ornamental varieties listed with the Federal Plant Variety Office. Tables providing overviews of the varieties give information on the cultivation, yield, resistance and quality properties of the varieties. The descriptions of distinctive ampelographic properties are supplemented with photographs. In addition, the Descriptive Variety List provides details of the registered clones of the individual varieties and the relevant breeders. It provides an overview of cultivation area distribution and propagating material production for the varieties and lists those which may be used for wine production under federal state regulations, as well as vine varieties suitable for the production of quality wine. Registered synonymous for variety denominations are also given.
The most recent edition was published in 2015.
Raspberries, blackberries
The Descriptive Variety List on raspberries, blackberries is published occasionally.
Introductory general points on each variety are given followed by a table providing an overview of varieties, in which varieties are described according to their morphological, resistance and yield properties. A diagram provides details on the blooming period and ripeness for consumption for the varieties in question. Then, descriptions of each variety are provided, which are supplemented with representative illustrations.
The Descriptive Variety List is intended to provide information for commercial growers, advisors, teachers and learners in the fruit sector, home and allotment gardeners and consumers in terms of the properties of varieties, as well as offer an overview of the diversity of the varieties and help with the process of selecting a variety.
The most recent edition was published in 2006.
Medicinal and aromatic plants
The Descriptive Variety List on medicinal and aromatic plants is published occasionally.
The Descriptive Variety List includes information on 39 plant species, details of which are provided in terms of their various quality and yield properties. In addition, some significant properties for the distinctiveness of the varieties are detailed. General notes and illustrations on the species supplement the information provided.
The most recent edition was published in 2002.
Cane fruit: red currants, gooseberries, jostaberries
The Descriptive Variety List on cane fruit is published occasionally.
The varieties are described in terms of their quality and yield properties. Each description is supplemented by a colour illustration. In addition, some significant properties for the distinctiveness of the varieties are detailed.
The most recent edition was published in 2002.
Root vegetables, bulb vegetables, brassica vegetables, pulses
The Descriptive Variety List on root vegetables, bulb vegetables, brassica vegetables, pulses is published occasionally.
General notes on plant varieties, some with illustrations in colour, are given after tables with overviews describing the varieties. Varieties with particular suitability for cultivation as well as varieties that are newly included in the Descriptive Variety List are also described including written details. In addition, as well as the variety descriptions used in this Descriptive Variety List, additional common synonymous variety descriptions are provided.
The most recent edition was published in 2001.
Pome fruit: apples, pears
The Descriptive Variety List on apples and pears is published occasionally.
General introductory notes on each variety are provided after the variety descriptions. These include various cultivation properties, as well as important properties for valuation, such as yield, fruit quality, flavour, resistance to disease and pests and shelf life. Illustrations in colour are also provided for each variety.
The most recent edition was published in 2000.
Wild fruit species
The Descriptive Variety List on wild fruit species is published occasionally.
Wild fruit species are wild plants with no or minimal breeding activities and the fruit of which can be collected for use. Some species that are rarely cultivated commercially, but of which varieties particularly suitable for fruit production have developed through selection and breeding, are included in the wild fruit category. Wild fruit varieties include sea buckthorn, juniper, sloe and elder.
The Descriptive Variety List includes information on varieties and selections of 38 wild fruit species. Information is provided on growing requirements, cultivation and care, fruit quality, ingredients and their uses, as well as resistance against diseases and pests. In the interest of increasing the use of wild fruit species, species that do not yet have any varieties are also described.
The most recent edition was published in 1999.
Fruiting vegetables, leaf vegetables
The Descriptive Variety List on fruiting vegetables, leaf vegetables is published occasionally.
General notes on plant varieties, some with illustrations in colour, are given after tables with overviews describing the varieties. Varieties with particular suitability for cultivation as well as varieties that are newly included in the Descriptive Variety List are also described including written details. In addition, as well as the variety descriptions used in this Descriptive Variety List, additional common synonymous variety descriptions are provided.
The most recent edition was published in 1997.
Stone fruit: plums, sweet cherries, sour cherries
The Descriptive Variety List on stone fruit is published occasionally.
The variety descriptions include cultivation properties, as well as important criteria for valuation, such as yield, fruit quality, flavour and resistance against diseases and pests. The descriptions are supplemented by illustrations in colour.
The most recent edition was published in 1997.