Belgium: NV Roger Maes specialised in open ground vegetable seeds

NV Roger Maes is a Belgian plant breeder and seed production company that officially started in 1938. Manager Francis Maes says that he has been in the trade for 42 years. "I've been breeding various vegetable seeds for 21 years. It takes around 15/16 years to get good varieties on the market. Due to the experience we've built up in the past years, we've grown strong in various vegetable seeds."

"Our main cornerstones are leek, celeriac, parsley, salsify, arugula, and chervil," says the breeder. "We're the only selection company in Belgium at the moment that focusses on the selection of vegetable crops for commercialisation and this for cultivations that are of capital interest for our horticulturists. It concerns seeds for industry cultivation and the fresh market. An important item in the selection is, besides their resistance against leaf and root diseases, their shelf life."

Francis indicates that the 'big' varieties in vegetables at the moment are in celeriac and parsley. "For celeriac it's Clair, Camus and Vix and for parsley, Merveille is doing well in Belgium. We're working on new hybrid varieties in leeks; they will be introduced next year."

Maes is looking forward to new collaborations in the coming year. "In October we expect to start collaborating with a Dutch company. I'm still looking for new contacts in Holland and other countries at the moment."

For more information:
Francis Maes
Roger Maes NV
't Hoge 61
8500 - Kortrijk
Gsm: 0475/43 15 57
Tel: 056/21 81 81
Fax: 056/20 18 70
www.nvrogermaes.be