From farmers' markets to students' visits - introducing apple breeding to people

The 2026 spring at our station was rich in outreach activities. They allowed us to introduce our varieties to students, local market fans, and the general public.

The traditional farmers' market on the riverside near the Liberec Regional Authority building took place on Maundy Thursday (2 April). Visitors had an opportunity to taste apples of some of our varieties, bred and grown at our station: Ellipso® ('UEB 47021'), 'Red Topaz', 'Lyra', 'Admiral', 'Lucy', and the super-sweet variety Melinda Dolcevita® ('UEB 6581').

A well-attended event was the "Pěnčínské jarní slavnosti" (Pěnčín Spring Festival), a cultural and social event organized on 21 March, featuring local agricultural producers. Our experienced colleague Jan Zima introduced our varieties here and offered advice to hobby gardeners.

Meetings and discussions with students tend to be enjoyable and enriching. This spring, we hosted a visit of students from the high school Gymnázium Mnichovo Hradiště. Our colleague Dimitrij Tyč told them more about what is is like to work at our station. They also visited our orchard and greenhouse, and - naturally - had an opportunity to taste our varieties.

Conversely, our colleagues visited two high schools and engaged with students in discussions and presentations. Jan Zima discussed with students of the Litomyšl high school about the breeders' endeavour and present challenges. At the event at Gymnázium Mnichovo Hradiště which was focused on selecting the occupation, Jan Štrojsa not only introduced our breeding and varieties, but also discussed with students about what a breeder's job entails and that it is important to keep learning and to pursue what you enjoy and find interesting. Maybe our colleagues sparked a long-term interest in breeding in some students, who knows?

Our activities this spring were focused not only on laypeople and students but also on professionals, though. On 19 March, we hosted a meeting of the Copy Tree research project (part of the international COST grant program). We gave the attendees an overview of our breeding program and highlighted the international scope of our activities and significance of breeding resistant varieties for reducing the environmental burden.