Società Produttori Sementi S.p.A. in Bologna (PSB) is a long-established company, which has been present on the market since 1911. The Company has always been structured on the model of modern European seed companies; research and development, seed production and the commercialisation of its own products have been integrated into a well-defined structure, aimed at promoting innovations derived from plant breeding.

centro_sementiero

Over time, the quality of the Research and Development division has enabled the release of genetic material that is highly appreciated by farmers and widely grown in Italy and abroad, offering a vital contribution to plant breeding and its evolution.

At present, the Company is engaged in the area of cereals (common and durum wheat), industrial crops (sugar beet), forage plants (alfalfa), and fiber plants (hemp). Plant breeding is managed according to traditional methods and using modern technologies (e.g. molecular markers). Particular attention is paid to the technological needs of the processing industries, with the aim of developing low-impact agriculture that is more environmentally friendly.

The Company has links with several public and private research centres in Italy, Europe and other countries. Therefore, there is a continuous exchange of knowledge and professional expertise. Additionally, the acquisition of suitable infrastructures, laboratories and field equipment guarantees excellent applied research. The company’s seed processing and packaging facilities include a plant for cereals (common and durum wheat) built in 1978, and a more recent plant for sugar beet, alfalfa and hemp.

Seed production requires the availability of farmland in order to carry out the selection, trials and multiplication of the “breeder’s seed” of the different varieties. Therefore, correct agronomic management of the farms is fundamental for the development of seed production activities. In fact, the company has managed farms ever since it began. This has also led to the acquisition of a direct knowledge of farmers’ requirements, which is very useful in plant breeding. Product quality has always been the main objective of the activities related to seed production. It is pursued with a precise organization of production, as well as through constant updating of the technological machinery in modern seed processing plants.

This has allowed Produttori Sementi Bologna to become the first seed company in Italy to receive certification of its own system, according to the international ISO 9001 standard, for plant breeding, variety release, and the production and commercialisation of cereals, industrial and forage crop seeds. This certification guarantees the company’s conformity to the UNI EN ISO 9001:2000 “Quality management system: requirements”.