b'20 MOST FAMOUSPLANT BREEDERSLOOKING BACK AFTER TWO CENTURIES OF MENDEL. COMPILED BY MARCEL BRUINSIn the year where it has been two centuries since Gregor Mendel was born, it seems appropriate to look at some of the other people who have made a bigger than normal contribution to plant breeding and have enriched our world and our plates with new, better, higher yielding and more delicious plant varieties. Nowadays, plant breeding isTHOMAS ANDREW KNIGHT MATTHIAS CHRISTIAN RABBETHGEvery much an interdisciplinary(17591838) - BRITISH(18041902)GERMAN PLANT BREEDERactivity, with lots of input fromHORTICULTURALIST AND BOTANIST With the purchase of a 212-acre (approx. other departments within aAfter graduation, he took up the study50 hectare) plot of land including seed company, such as theof horticulture. In 1795 he published theshares in a sugar beet factory in results of his research on the propagationKlein Wanzleben, Matthias Christian plant pathology, molecular orof fruit trees and their diseases. HisRabbethge, the son of a farming marketing departments. Butbreeding experiments, betweenfamily, laid the foundation stone for the in the old days it was often aidentified plant varieties, led to newsuccessful linking of sugar production one-person job, and from timeapple varieties. He would select amongand sugar beet breeding in Germany as hundreds of seedlings to pick out theearly as 1847. Rabbethge recognised that to time it is good to look backfew with improved characteristics. Forincreasing the sugar content in the beet and see on whose shouldersexample, the Siberian Harvey cider applewas a prerequisite for profitable sugar we are standing. No doubt,was among about four seedings he keptbeet production. The Klein Wanzlebener from 300 crosses. Distribution of KnightsOriginal became one of the highest-there are many others thatapple seeds and scions to the U.S.yielding and most popular varieties. And also deserve a spot in thishelped develop its apple industry. In theas early as 1910, around a third of the list. Feel free to send us yourmid-19th century, the Downton strawberry,worlds beet seed requirements were proposals, and why thosebred by Knight, was a popular strawberrymet from Klein Wanzleben. The Klein in Britain, until it was eclipsed by modernWanzleben type is still the progenitor persons should be on the liststrawberry hybrids at the turn of theof almost all sugar beet varieties grown as well. century. It is not widely known that heworldwide. His insights were later studied variation in peas and madepursued by his sons, Matthias Jr and Karl, similar observations to Mendel, but hein systematic breeding trials and led to failed to make the same imaginative leapsuccess. Throughout his life, Rabbethge about the relationships between thesewas open to technical innovations and changes. helped the Klein Wanzleben site to rise and become a global pioneer for high-performance sugar beet seed.24IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM'