Characterization, breeding and propagation of regional hop races (HOPBEL2.0)

This project concerns breeding of hop for local use. Anno 2022 there are 171 ha of hops in Flanders, with about thirty varieties being grown. As there is currently no hop breeding program in Flanders, these hop fields are planted with varieties of foreign origin. Foreign breeding programs focus not only on brewing characteristics (aroma and bitterness), but also on yield and disease resistance. This results in hop varieties that are interesting for both the hop grower and the brewer. However, there is a growing tendency to protect these foreign varieties by means of licenses, what hampers the access of Flemish growers to those varieties. This means that Flemish hop growers will not evolve along with the cultivation of newer and better varieties and they fear that this could be disastrous for the Flemish hop sector in the future.

The first steps for a local breeding program were already taken during the 2018-19 HOPBEL project. To achieve a full breeding program, there are still a number of important challenges and research needs. The agronomic characterization of the candidate varieties needs to be further optimized (e.g. development of bioassays to test the susceptibility towards white disease, hop blight and Verticillium). The characterization of crossing parents and optimization of techniques to carry out targeted pollination needs to be speeded-up. Finally, Flemish hop growers are also requesting to start up local propagation of hop plants in Flanders so as not to be dependent on foreign propagators.

In HopBel2.0 we strive to develop locally adapted hop varieties that are relevant for the farmer (agronomically) and for the brewer. We also lay the foundations for a Flemish breeding program so that the Flemish hop grower can evolve with the cultivation of new, robust varieties and remains competitive within the international hop market.