Breeding

Beans – Signature crop with high quality

Beans have been a signature crop for Bakker Brothers for many decades.  It was the first crop we started breeding in the late 1970s. Currently we focus our breeding efforts on bush and pole snap beans for professional market. The breeding program’s main location is in Heerhugowaard, The Netherlands. For each focus market, we have our own trialing locations where we test our lines under local conditions.  We aim to deliver all traits needed for top-performing varieties. High yield, disease resistances, climate adaptation, and overall good pod quality are required for a variety to be added to our portfolio. 

To achieve these goals, we make use of numerous modern tools, including molecular markers, phytopathology testing, and stringent quality selections in the field. 

Ever since the start of the program, many varieties have made their way into our portfolio, with many unique, top-performing ones to follow.

Cucumber, Summer Squash and Watermelon – Upstarts with great potential

The cucurbit Bakker Brothers breeding program established in the second quarter of 2020 in the Netherlands and then moved to Egypt in 2022. The program utilizes traditional breeding methods and molecular markers to develop breeding lines and improved hybrids(not genetically engineered) adapted and meet consumer demands in the Middle East and North Africa. 

Each year, approximately 10,000 plants are evaluated and selected for advancing based on several characteristics including: plant vigorous, yield, disease resistance, fruit size and quality and others. Utilization of molecular tools have been introduced recently to select for disease resistance more efficiently during the breeding process to develop a best-in-class breeding program for our markets in the shortest possible time. Already the programs are picking up speed and the first F1 hybrids are close to be tested in a (semi-) commercial setting the coming years.

Eggplant – Dark black with high yield

Bakker Brothers started its eggplant breeding program in 2008 and we released our first hybrids in 2014. The main breeding activities occur at our breeding station in Heerhugowaard, the Netherlands. The focus in our eggplant program is on black oval, round-oval and cylindrical types. Nonetheless, we also develop niche hybrids of white oval and cylindrical types. Our hybrids are evaluated at our breeding stations abroad as well. The best performance hybrids are further test in different locations with growers and at our customer test fields.  All our varieties are bred for use in either the open field, winter greenhouse or both and combine an exceptional quality with good vigor and high yield.