Editorial

Arnaud Delbard
CEO at Nurseries &  Rose gardens  Georges Delbard

 

 

« With my father and my grand-father, I learnt what a gardener with a blue shirt is, and what was needed to become a gardener with a white shirt!

Consumers’ expectations must be the main priority of the sector: a fleshy and perfumed rose, a thriving and compact plant and a sustainable resistance to different pests and diseases.

Breeding programs are now moving towards these objectives thanks to major advances in fundamental research, in particular the sequencing of the rose genome.

The molecular tools developed by the public research programs give us a better knowledge of the genetic diversity of the rose and thus allow us to better target our crosses in order to respond better to new economic and environmental issues. For example, implementation of the Labbé law requires hybrids and producers to offer varieties that are increasingly resistant to the various aggressors. The development of disease resistance tests (BelaRosa CASDAR project) now allows us to be more efficient and quicker in our selection.

We are building a new agreement and together, after a long-term collaboration, we will benefit from offering a more sustainable horticulture. »