Earth

In Ostenfeld near Rendsburg, the Faculty of Agriculture maintains a highly productive field experimentation site, located on the edge of the East Holstein hill country on a thick layer of soil (luvisol, AZ 50). A variety of agricultural problems are investigated at this facility, with an emphasis on testing plant protection products. New varieties of grain, rape, corn, sugar beet and grasses are also tested. In addition to determining the characteristics of different varieties, these tests increasingly revolve around testing plants for their suitability as energy suppliers for use in biogas power plants or for direct thermal use.

Over a period of several years, Syngenta Seeds GmbH commissioned FuE-Zentrum FH Kiel GmbH to conduct a project entitled "Durchführung produktionstechnischer Entwicklungsversuche in Hybrid-Wintergersten-Zuchtstämmen" (Production-related developmental experiments on hybrid breeding strains of winter barley). A highly innovative approach was inherent to the project, as this breeding company was the first to produce an F1 hybrid of winter barley of this kind.

Dr. sc. agr. Helge Stephan, Professor at the Faculty of Agriculture, was available for the management of the entire project. An optimal area for crop planting was prepared at the experimental location and the project workers implemented all production-related measures such as fertilisation, plant protection and bio-regulation, determined the yield, and the quality parameters. Over the course of the three-year period, the selection of those hybrids best suited to production in north-west German climate was achieved. The breeding company now possesses an extensive database for use in production-related consultation, enabling them to provide competent support in the future to interested farmers.