Ornamental Crops

Dr. Johan Van Huylenbroeck is a plant breeder at the Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO) in Belgium. Besides practical breeding, he also coordinates numerous research projects on ornamental plants. Since 2006, he leads the Applied Breeding and Genetics group, a team of 20 researchers and 30 technical staff members. His research focuses mainly on (1) the development of efficient hybridization and selection strategies, (2) the creation of cultivars for sustainable agriculture and horticulture; (3) the use of DNA markers assisted breeding techniques for quantitative and qualitative traits and (4) marker-based analysis of genetic diversity and identity. In close collaboration with the industry, his group runs breeding programs in a.o. azalea, outdoor roses and woody ornamentals.  Specific breeding goals in woody ornamentals are disease resistance, enlargement of the existing diversity via interspecific hybridization and compact growing plants.