E-Brida and practical experience

How long have you been working in the plant breeding profession, and what do you specialize in?

Since 2003 I have been breeding plants for commercial companies. Before that, I did applied research with Plant Research International in Wageningen. I have been working in the field of taxonomy, in the breeding of resistant varieties, in tissue culture and many more fields with other functions. My passion primarily lies in the ornamental plants, in fact I really like to fiddle with plants.

Which crops have you been breeding?

I have been working with pelargonium and osteospermum. Right now I am breeding lilies.

How do you recognize your first class breed?

I can easily spot that first class breed, but it does not happen very often. The challenge really lies in the sub top breeds. The good ancestors with strong genes, but you do not always spot them. E-Brida can certainly help you to find these sub top breeds.

How did you do register your breeding activities without E-Brida?

I mainly used Access. I think that many plant breeders were forced to manage with Access en Excel just out of necessity. The queries I made in Access I later imported into Excel, where I did analysis with pivot-tables.

What do you spend most of your time on when you are working?

On making and analysing observations. During the season this takes up about 80% of your time. The perfect integration with scoring perceptions using a PDA with E-Brida saves an enormous amount of time. During peaks it leaves you more time to make your analysis instantly.

What do you think is the best functionality used in E-Brida?

The pedigree tree, that certainly is a golden one. It allows you to go through your pedigree book in a three-dimensional way. The tree is one of its strongest points, very powerful. In one single survey it shows you the grandfathers and grandmothers, together with their traits and photo’s. Nobody can do this at this moment. Of course it is also important to register observations using a mobile device, so that it can be done on location. And furthermore, the planning of trials in E-Brida is subtly streamlined.

How does E-Brida fit the way you work?

E-Brida is well equipped with a number of abstract work processes that are in fact used by all plant breeders. So you do not have to figure out these large and basic outlines yourself. It also sets you thinking about your own work process. Why do you go through specific stages? The work process I use is not always efficient. Indeed, good instructions are necessary when you use E-Brida; E-Brida works with a pedigree book, but some breeders work with a sample book or other systems.

It basically amounts to the same thing. The same goes for lots and plots. For me, lots are basic material, and plots are the results. It is good to work through the various processes in a uniform manner within one breeding company. With E-Brida, every plant breeder can give it his own twist. Especially when a colleague has to be replaced, it is much easier for others to take over his tasks. When several persons are working on the same plant, using the same database, the advantages are even bigger.

How do you make use of photographic material in your analysis?

I use photo’s off season in order to get a clear picture of the most important parents involved in a crossing, but I use them especially for my latest selections. The latest selections sometimes tend to get lost in the bulk. You easily remember the first class breeds, but you easily forget the breeds that were also very good. Photo’s come in handy especially when there are new seedlings. The system must fit what is inside your head. One plant breeder may remember pictures, another memorizes numbers. E-Brida can do both.

What do you think of the function of analysis used in E-Brida?

E-Brida is much better than the solutions that were used until now. Measuring is just measuring, and it does not involve a value judgement of what you are doing, and but that is what counts in the end. E-brida helps you to determine the proper breeding value. Furthermore, the export function to Excel is ideal for intervening analysis.

Are you content with the service of Agri Information Partners?

The service of Agri Information Partners is one of the reasons why I took the plunge with them. They handle all issues very efficiently.