The European Patent Office (EPA) in Munich has recognized and published a patent application from the wheat division of Strube Research. With the patent, the company secures the rights to use three essential features in combination with molecular markers that are important for the creation of fully fertile hybrids and for the classification of the hybrid components.

Thanks to the patented technology, breeders at Strube Research will in future be able to create suitable hybrid parents much faster and more precisely. Furthermore, this patent enables full fertility in the hybrid. Up until now this could only be achieved in exceptional cases and represented a major hurdle in establishing commercial hybrid wheat systems. “We are pleased about the recognition of the patent in several respects, because patents in the wheat crop are extremely rare. In addition, the success could only be achieved through many years of work and excellent cooperation between practical and molecular breeding. " Andreas Benke, molecular breeder at Strube Research.

Through the breeding work of the wheat department of Strube Research and the recognition of the patent, an important tool for hybrid wheat breeding in wheat was created. Furthermore, the Strube Research patent has now also been protected in the most important European countries.