Eight to twelve years to create a variety.

Creating a new variety is a demanding process that generally spans eight to twelve years. Every programme begins by defining precise objectives linked to the needs of growers and manufacturers and to market developments. The work then combines directed crosses, pedigree selection, multi-environment evaluations, agronomic characterisation, chemical analyses and evaluations of resistance to the main pests and diseases, in order to identify the best genetic combinations.

Rack of vials prepared for UPLC chemical analysis

Reading genotyping results in the Bergerac Seed & Breeding laboratory

Programme duration: 8 – 12years, from brief to registration
Analyses chimiques: UPLClaboratoire interne
Publications: 13communications scientifiques depuis 2017

Conventional breeding, modern tools.

True to its historic expertise, Bergerac Seed & Breeding relies exclusively on conventional variety breeding methods. These approaches are reinforced by modern scientific tools such as molecular marking, pathological evaluations in the laboratory and on infested plots, and analyses carried out in our chemistry laboratory equipped with a UPLC system. This combination improves the efficiency of breeding while guaranteeing complete control over the genetics of the varieties developed.

Once the best lines have been identified, they are evaluated over several years in different environments to confirm their stability, their performance and their suitability for the intended growing conditions. This long-term work allows BSB to offer reliable, high-performing and durable varieties that meet the expectations of agricultural sectors internationally.

Talk to our experts

Six research workstreams.

Microscope observation in the pathology laboratory

Disease resistance

Young tobacco plant lifted from its cell, root plug visible

Nematode resistance

Adaptation to climate change

Tobacco leaves in full growth, blade and veins

Improved technological quality

Weighing a ground plant sample on a precision balance

Specific chemical profiles

Monitoring hemp plants in the breeding greenhouse

Development of new industrial hemp varieties

One of the few teams covering every tobacco type.

Very few teams in the world today have mastered every major tobacco type. This breadth of competence, combined with nearly a century of experience in variety improvement, makes Bergerac Seed & Breeding a recognised partner for the most demanding breeding projects.

Our multidisciplinary, human-scale team brings together complementary skills in genetics, variety breeding, agronomy, seed production, chemical analysis and regulatory affairs. This structure encourages direct exchange, high responsiveness and great flexibility in running projects. We are therefore able to adapt our programmes quickly to each partner’s specific needs, while guaranteeing personalised technical support and a high standard of scientific rigour.

Monitoring young plants on trays in the evaluation greenhouse

13 scientific communications.

CORESTA congresses, webinars and peer-reviewed journals.

2026
Breeding for nicotine extraction tobacco varieties
Malpica A., L’Humeau J., Bachet S.
CongressCORESTA Congress
Tobacco breeding made practical: what everyone should know
Malpica A.
WebinarAgro-Phyto Webinar — Tobacco plant breeding
2025
Development of resistant tobacco varieties against PVY breaking strains: advances and challenges
Malpica A., L’Humeau J., Bachet S.
CongressCORESTA Congress
A breeding experience of root knot nematode resistance breeding in Italy, France and Tanzania
Malpica A., L’Humeau J., Bachet S.
CongressCORESTA Congress
Impact of the alkaloid variation in variety breeding on yield, quality and plant defense
Malpica A., L’Humeau J., Bachet S.
CongressCORESTA Congress
2024
Impact of low nicotine breeding on plant defensive functions
Malpica A., L’Humeau J., Bachet S.
CongressCORESTA Congress
2023
Breeding for low nicotine tobacco varieties and impact of lower alkaloids lines on plant defense
Malpica A., L’Humeau J., Bachet S.
WebinarCORESTA Webinar
2022
Breeding for high nicotine tobacco varieties
Malpica A., L’Humeau J., Bachet S.
CongressCORESTA Congress
New progress in breeding and biocontrol dual approaches for tobacco broomrapes management
Malpica A., Bachet S., Gatard L. + 5 co-authors
Malpica A., Bachet S., Gatard L., Reibel C., Gautheron N., Edel-Hermann V., Steinberg C., Gibot-Leclerc S. Collapse
CongressCORESTA Congress
2020
RNA-Seq analysis of Orobanche resistance in Nicotiana tabacum: development of molecular markers for breeding recessive tolerance from « Wika » tobacco variety
Julio E., Malpica A., Cotucheau J. + 2 co-authors
Julio E., Malpica A., Cotucheau J., Bachet S., Volpatt R. Collapse
Peer-reviewed journalEuphytica — Springer
Progress in breeding and agronomical approaches for industrial nicotine extraction
Malpica A., Fressin C., François N. + 1 co-authors
Malpica A., Fressin C., François N., L’Humeau J. Collapse
CongressCORESTA Congress
2019
Progress in breeding and biocontrol dual approaches for tobacco broomrapes management
Malpica A., Guinchard L., Bachet S. + 7 co-authors
Malpica A., Guinchard L., Bachet S., Vacher C., Gatard L., Reibel C., Gautheron N., Edel-Hermann V., Steinberg C., Gibot-Leclerc S. Collapse
CongressCORESTA Congress
2017
Progress in development of a high-throughput phenotyping test as breeding tool for broomrape resistance in tobacco: an overview of results
Malpica A., Verrier J.-L., Bachet S. + 3 co-authors
Malpica A., Verrier J.-L., Bachet S., Ben Jemaa F., Pouvraud J.-B., Simier P. Collapse
CongressCORESTA Congress