Norwegian Agricultural Directorate
About the project
The breeding project, known as Fremavl, was established in 1976, the ongoing project undergoes renewal each year.
Primarily, the project focuses on purifying plants from bacterial and viral diseases. We test and store purified plant varieties, delivering healty plant material to Norwegian growers for large-scale production. Fremavl has also participated in numerous research projects, contributing with its specialized expertise in tissue culture.
In recent years, the Fremavl project has acquired new expertise in molecular biology, enabling its involvement in exciting collaborative projects in the field of biotechnology. We were part of the GeneInnovate project, contributing our expertise to WP5, the plant side of the project.
The objective of Fremavl is to undertake assignments to purify plants from diseases, preserve healthy plants through tissue culture and disease-free greenhouses, and ensure that Norwegian growers have access to fresh plant material at competitive prices.
Collaboration
Over the years, we have collaborated with many Norwegian growers, NIBIO, and conducted research for foreign entities. Graminor is also part of the Fremavl project. They have no direct connection to our department at NMBU and mainly engage in plant breeding.
Utility
By ensuring that Norwegian growers have access to fresh plant material at competitive prices, we can limit the import of potentially infected plants from abroad. Fremavl receives funding from the Agricultural Directorate to reduce the price growers pay for fresh plant material, which would otherwise be prohibitively expensive.