Welcome at the "Fruitteeltcentrum" (Centre for Fruit Culture)

History

The Fruitteeltcentrum is a K.U.Leuven R&D division since 2004. Before it was a exploitation entity of the K.U.Leuven which was founded in 1989. In 1989 the activities and all the assets and liabilities from the "vzw Tuinbouwstichting" were donated to the K.U.Leuven. The K.U.Leuven then started the Fruitteeltcentrum for the exploitation at Rillaar and for the applied research. The buildings and infrastructure were in 1991, mostly with own fundings. At this moment the value of the assets is about 2 million euro. Since 2004 the fundamental and contract research is housed at the Laboratory for Fruit Breeding and Biotechnology (LFBB).

Mission

The Fruitteeltcentrum is one of the agro-technical services of the faculty of Bioscience engineering with a focus on the three objectives of the university: research, education and service for the public.

The research builds a bridge between the fundamental research at the laboratories of the faculty, in particular the laboratory for Fruit Breeding and Biotechnology, and the practical applications. As such the research has a strongly applied character and is very much orientated at possibilities of valorisation. The research is very multidisciplinar and tries, mostly by means of plant breeding or related approaches, to find solutions for the most important problems in fruit culture by product renewal and product improvement for disease resistance, fruit quality, tree architecture and the regulation of flowering and fruit set. The Fruitteeltcentrum is an important instrument for the faculty to collaborate with external research partners such as the Proefcentrum Fruitteelt (PCF) and foreign universities.

Support of education takes place most of the time in connection to projects and excursion of the courses at the faculty of Bioscience engineering.

The services for the public focus both on laboratories, companies, public and scientific services and the promotion of the faculty and its activities towards future students and to socio-economic organisations. For this last task there is a collaboration with the Service of External Relations and the Service for Educational Support of the faculty.

The other parts of this website are in dutch.

For more information please contact Wannes Keulemans.