Research centre races to protect Bavaria’s hop harvest

Bavarian hop growers expect this year’s harvest to be about 20 per cent lower than last year, according to BR. At the Hop Research Centre Hüll near Wolnzach in Upper Bavaria, researchers are developing varieties that can withstand climate change and helping secure supplies for farmers and breweries.

For hop growers in the Hallertau hop-growing region, the issue is no longer limited to this year’s harvest. Climate change threatens their livelihoods. Grower Matthias Geltermeier is nevertheless starting the harvest with confidence, partly because of the work carried out at Hüll.

Geltermeier, who farms in Schweitenkirchen, is initially harvesting the Hallertauer Mittelfrüh variety. The variety was bred at Hüll, which also advised him on the best time to harvest.

Developing varieties for heat and drought

About 85 per cent of the hops grown in Germany come from varieties developed at Hüll. Researchers are working to create plants that are more resistant to climate-related drought, heat, diseases and pests.

The centre was founded in 1926 after the previously unknown fungal disease downy mildew threatened hop growing in the region. Research into diseases and pests, along with the breeding of new hop varieties, remains its main task.

Breeding is a permanent race against nature, said Walter König, managing director of the Hop Research Centre. Today, climate change is the main challenge facing the researchers.

They are modifying plant characteristics, including the roots. New varieties are being given larger rootstocks so they can survive several weeks without rain more effectively. Researchers also want plants with fewer leaves and stems but more hop cones, which provide the brewing value. Fewer leaves mean less evaporation.

About 7,000 different hop plants are grown in the centre’s large greenhouse, known as the Kindergarten. Only a small number eventually reach market maturity, a process that takes about 15 years.

Researchers test ways to retain more water

New varieties alone will not be enough, so researchers at Hüll are also looking for ways to retain more water in the region. A group of hydrogeologists from the Technical University of Munich is studying the groundwater.

Under the planned system, water from a rain retention basin at Hüll would be treated and cleaned after heavy rainfall. If its quality is suitable, it would then be pumped through a well to a depth of 26 metres and returned to the groundwater.

Hydrogeologist Thomas Baumann said the work could help raise groundwater levels. The researchers believe a network of such facilities across the Hallertau could benefit hops and other crops.

Breweries also benefit from new varieties

Breweries are also working with the research centre. At Müllerbräu brewery in Pfaffenhofen, brewmaster Alexander Büch is already using a new variety called Tango.

The brewery grows Tango in its own hop garden, which Matthias Geltermeier maintains. Büch said the variety is more resistant to climate change and disease, providing greater security for beer production.

The Hop Research Centre Hüll is supported by the Society for Hop Research and the Free State of Bavaria. Researchers say that without the varieties developed there, German hop growers would be significantly less competitive today.