Articles

On this page you can find various publications and articles concerning breeding, tissue culture, production and trade of seeds and young plants. For more information on these publication or articles you may contact our secretariat at info@plantum.nl or phone: +31 182 - 68 86 68.

General sales and delivery terms of Plantum NL

Exoneration clause

Plantum NL has placed on this website general terms to the best of her knowledge. Still the use of these general terms will completely be the responsibility of the company that has declared them applicable to their agreements. Plantum NL will exclude all liability for damage, including consequential loss or a lack of income, that is the result of the use of these general terms . In case the user of the general terms makes changes in the contract, the terms can no longer be named “General Terms of Plantum NL”. At most it can be mentioned that the terms are based on the general terms of Plantum NL.

Further explanation on the use of these general terms can be found here.

General terms for ornamental plant and nutritional horticulture production of
Plantum NL

The general terms and the appendix are available in the following languages:

General Terms and Conditions for the Tissue Culture section of Plantum NL

These general terms are available in the following languages:

  • General Terms and Conditions for the Tissue Culture section of Plantum NL English
  • General Terms and Conditions for the Tissue Culture section of Plantum NL German
  • General Terms and Conditions for tissue culture work carried out on contract by the Tissue Culture section of Plantum NL English
  • General Terms and Conditions for tissue culture work carried out on contract by the Tissue Culture section of Plantum NL German

Green origins from The Netherlands

The Netherlands traditionally plays an important part in the agricultural and horticultural breeding and propagating industry and with regard to plant breeding, the Netherlands can be said to set the trend internationally. The fact that Dutch companies are world market leaders with regard to propagation material for ornamental plants, seed-potatoes and flax demonstrates this prominent position. Eight out of ten of the world’s largest vegetable seed companies have their main offices and/or important branches in the Netherlands. In short, development and production of plant reproduction material is an important, highly developed economic activity in the Netherlands. To present this interesting sector to the world Plantum NL developed the brochure Green Origins from The Netherlands. This brochure briefly describes the sector and focuses on the unique selling points of Dutch plant reproduction material. The brochure is available in the following languages:

The text of this brochure may be, in part or as a whole, freely used. Mentioning the source is obligatory. Below you find a few highlights from the brochure.

Worldwide leader
The Netherlands are the largest exporter of plant reproduction material in the world. About 24% of the entire world export value is of Dutch origin. Although the Netherlands compared to other European countries has a relatively small area available for the production of basic plant material, it plays an important part in international trade within the European Union. In the total European export of plant reproduction material, the Netherlands has a share of 47%. In 2004, the export value of Dutch plant reproduction material was over 1.6 billion euros.

Economic interest
The turnover of the Dutch agricultural and horticultural breeding and propagating industry amounts to over 2.5 billion euros per annum. Apart from immediate economic interest, the sector has a significant effect on other parts of the economy: producers of plant reproduction material literally ensure a good start in agriculture and thus provide the agricultural industry with a firm base. The sector provides jobs for 10,000 workers, including a relatively large number of higher-educated workers.

Knowledge  and innovation
Dutch companies are renowned for being reliable and innovative. Knowledge and innovation are key words with regard to the strong position of Dutch plant reproduction material. Dutch companies are searching non-stop for new methods of optimizing the quality of their products, the production process, logistics, breeding and propagation. Besides, Dutch companies are focused on relations and international co-operation. Apart from plant reproduction material, they also provide, market information, product information and growing information as a service to the industry.

Responding to changing markets
Breeding and propagation are synonymous with innovation. Product innovation is necessary for maintaining the interest of today’s consumer. Growers also increasingly demand more of the product: new varieties that are more productive, have a lower cost price, are less susceptible to pests and diseases, tolerant to high and low temperatures and salinity of the soil and that can be processed in an automated system. The Dutch agricultural and horticultural breeding and propagating industry responds to this changing market through constant innovation. In addition to promoting existing traditional techniques, the process of constant innovation enables the development of new breeding and propagation techniques.

Quality, inspections and quality marks
The plant reproduction material originating from Dutch companies, complies with strict quality requirements. The plant reproduction material is required to be for instance true to type, varietally pure , free of disease and free of weeds. In the Netherlands, the quality of plant reproduction material is checked by independent inspection bodies. These are the Dutch General Inspection Service for Agricultural Seed and Seed Potatoes (NAK) for agriculture, the Netherlands Inspection Service for Horticulture (NAKtuinbouw) for the floriculture, nursery stock and vegetable sector and the Flowerbulb Inspection Service (BKD) for flowerbulbs. In addition to the inspections required by European guidelines and Dutch law, the sector itself sets high standards with respect to the plant reproduction material. The Netherlands are renowned worldwide as a supplier of high quality plant reproduction material. The sector wishes to maintain this reputation. This explains why many companies internally set higher quality standards than the already high standard of the legal minimum.