“KWS Academy” brought together agricultural producers and prominent Bulgarian scientists

In January, the "KWS Academy" was held for the second time in Pravets. The forum gathered over 300 leading agricultural producers from across the country, who had the opportunity to exchange experiences among themselves, get acquainted with the company's new offerings for the current season, see the results from the fields during the previous production year, and learn practical news obtained from trials conducted by prominent Bulgarian scientists.

We want to introduce Bulgarian producers to the latest news in global agriculture, particularly the company's newest developments, with which we aim to ensure secure success for farmers, said Christian Gaisböck, manager of "KWS Seeds Bulgaria," in his welcome address.

A lot happens in agriculture in a year, and it must be shared. On one hand, we present our new developments – hybrids, crop cultivation technologies, i.e., everything that makes production more profitable and successful, and on the other – farmers raise their problems, but also show their achievements from the past season, which is also important feedback, state the team of "KWS Seeds Bulgaria" categorically.

As a result of numerous trials under different soil and climatic conditions in various regions of the country, the company selects only hybrids that have shown good performance and are suitable for our country. All hybrids from KWS's rich portfolio, regardless of their purpose – for grain, silage, or biogas – met the expectations of agricultural producers in Bulgaria. Successful producers have already been convinced that to achieve good results, they need quality seeds. And undoubtedly, KWS is among the companies that can offer such products. Again, the varietal list of corn hybrids is the richest. Undoubtedly, this is the most important crop for the company, which also holds the most significant market share in Europe in this segment. Furthermore, KWS offers seeds for sunflower, wheat, winter barley, and winter oilseed rape. The corn hybrids cover all FAO groups, with groups 300 and 400 being the most represented, but there are also hybrids from earlier and later groups. KWS also pays serious attention to corn hybrids suitable for silage and biogas. Although their cultivation in our country is still limited at this stage, this is a niche that will grow in the future, the company believes, and therefore it is good for farmers to know them as an opportunity.

The corn seeds we offer are typical classical breeding, as they provide security in cultivation, deliver excellent yields, and are adapted to the soil and climatic conditions of our country, emphasized Svetoslav Serafimov, agroservice manager of KWS Seeds Bulgaria, to the farmers, who briefly presented the newest, as well as the established in practice, hybrids.

A mandatory part of the "KWS Academy" is the participation of prominent Bulgarian scientists, who for years have been conducting trials with the company's products under different production conditions, seeking the best solutions for successful production.

Great interest was sparked by the presentation of Prof. Tony Tonev from the Agricultural University of Plovdiv, namely: "Corn – the Queen of the Fields." Field trials were conducted with various corn hybrids offered here, using different methodologies – under different irrigation regimes, different sowing densities, and different fertilization.

The conclusions that can be drawn from the conducted trials are extremely valuable for our work, the farmers shared. Thanks to them, we can assess, for example, whether under irrigation conditions it is advisable to increase the seeding rate and apply more intensive fertilization to plan yields. As well as under other environmental conditions, what measures to take for successful production.

In recent years, the introduction of innovative solutions has made production more profitable, and consequently, successful. All this leads to higher quantitative and qualitative yields, which more than ever will be the goal of producers, especially in years when product prices are not very high. And precisely by achieving better results, this is one of the ways to optimize production. No less interest was sparked by the presentations of Prof. Maria Nankova on the topic: "Nitrogen Nutrition in Corn" and Prof. Andon Vasilev "Physiology of Sunflower."

Crop nutrition is among the decisive factors for obtaining excellent yields – both in quantity and quality. In recent years, farmers who pay serious attention to crop nutrition have shown with the results obtained that fertilization is a factor worth attention. And the combination of two of the main factors, namely growing high-yielding hybrids with proper nutrition, leads to high yields. That agriculture is of immense importance not only in the world but also here, and that it is among the leading sectors in the global economy, is beyond doubt. This was clearly seen in the presentation of Acad. Atanas Atanasov. Agriculture determines the production of food, fodder, and energy, and the need for them will increase in the future. And food quality is of fundamental importance for health and lifespan, and is also a requirement that will be emphasized more and more. Unfortunately, according to Acad. Atanasov, agriculture here is a priority more in words. There is much work to be done for it to become truly European and much more successful.