Virginia
Light tobacco varieties, Virginia type, traditionally flue-cured, intended for the main international markets: cigarettes, shisha, aromatic tobaccos and filler blends.
See all 23 varietiesBreeding the varieties behind tomorrow’s crops.
For nearly a century, Bergerac Seed & Breeding has developed tobacco varieties that meet the requirements of growers and manufacturers worldwide.
Breeder, seed producer, scientific partner.
For nearly a century, Bergerac Seed & Breeding has developed tobacco varieties that meet the requirements of growers and manufacturers worldwide. Building on this unique expertise, BSB now applies its know-how to industrial hemp variety development and supports its partners in their breeding, seed production and agronomic innovation projects.
As a breeder, a producer of certified seed and a scientific partner, we work across the entire variety creation chain, from defining breeding objectives through to seed commercialisation. Thanks to our multidisciplinary team, our research tools and our international presence, we develop innovative, high-performing and sustainable genetic solutions, matched to the agronomic, industrial and environmental challenges of today and tomorrow.
- Catalogue 2026
- 58documented tobacco varieties
- Typologies
- 6covered by our programmes
- Variety research
- 1927Bergerac centre established
- Reach
- 40+countries where our varieties are grown
Varieties, tailored programmes, science.
Genetics matched to every market
BSB develops and markets a broad range of tobacco and hemp varieties meeting diverse industrial uses, local agronomic constraints and processors’ expectations.
Let’s build your future varieties together
Variety creation, resistance introgression, chemical profile improvement, line production or seed multiplication: we develop programmes built entirely around our partners’ needs.
Genetics at the heart of what we do
Our teams draw on modern molecular plant-breeding tools to accelerate the development of new varieties that are ever more productive, durable and attuned to changing markets.
Six tobacco types, two hemp programmes.
Very few teams in the world have mastered all of these registers.
Burley
Traditionally air-cured varieties known for their low sugar content, their aromatic potential and their widespread use in cigarette blends, roll-your-own tobaccos and other tobacco products.
See all 13 varieties
Dark
Dark Air-Cured (DAC) and Dark Fire-Cured (DFC) varieties intended for cigar, chewing tobacco and snuff markets, and for certain specific industrial uses.
See all 9 varieties
Oriental
The benchmark varieties of oriental markets, characterised by their small leaves, their aromatic qualities and their richness in volatile compounds.
See all 8 varieties
Nicotine extraction tobacco
Varieties selected for their high nicotine content, their high alkaloid yield and their suitability for extraction channels serving pharmaceutical, biotechnological and industrial applications.
See all 5 varieties
Industrial hemp
Varieties developed for fibre or grain production, or for dual purpose, meeting the requirements of European industrial hemp channels. Hemp fibres have many applications in bio-based materials, notably insulation and construction, technical textiles, speciality papers, composites for the automotive and aerospace sectors, and reinforcement materials for bio-based plastics. The grain is used in human and animal nutrition.
The hemp programme
Floral hemp
Varieties selected for optimised floral biomass production, combining yield, uniformity, a THC content within regulatory limits and specific cannabinoid or terpene profiles according to the intended outlet.
The hemp programmeFrequently asked questions.
Grower, manufacturer, research institute: answers to the questions we are asked most often.
A French breeder specialising in the creation of tobacco varieties and the production of certified seed, founded in 2015 to ensure the continuity of the research centre opened in Bergerac in 1927. The company is owned by French tobacco growers through the CRMAPT.
Our history58 documented varieties, covering six types: Virginia, Burley, Dark, Oriental, Rustica and nicotine extraction tobacco. Each sheet gives the chemical profile (UPLC and NIRS), the earliness and the level of resistance to pests and diseases.
Browse the tobacco catalogueYes, since 2024, for industrial hemp (monoecious) and floral hemp (feminised dioecious). Three varieties are currently multiplied: Futura 75, Fedora 17 and Uso 31. A new variety is undergoing registration.
The hemp programmeEight to twelve years. Every programme begins by defining precise objectives, then combines directed crosses, pedigree selection, multi-environment evaluations, chemical analyses and resistance evaluations.
Our scientific approachYes. Every lot undergoes checks of varietal identity, specific purity and germination capacity. Tobacco seed is Low Converter™ certified; hemp seed is certified under the SEMAE and SOC frameworks.
Production & servicesNo. All our programmes rely exclusively on conventional variety breeding methods, without recourse to GMOs or to new genome editing techniques. Checks are carried out systematically.
Our commitmentsAs pelleted seed, in pellets of 1.60 – 1.80 mm or 1.75 – 2.00 mm in diameter, packed in boxes of 10,000, 30,000 or 50,000 pellets and in buckets of 200,000 or 1,000,000 pellets. Raw seed is supplied in heat-sealed aluminium foil sachets.
See the packaging optionsOur tobacco varieties are grown in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. We provide support on the regulatory, phytosanitary and customs matters specific to each market.
International logistics