Strube

Strube is a German plant-breeding company with a history dating back to 1877, when the farmer Friedrich Strube began selection breeding of sugar beet, peas and wheat in Schlanstedt, Saxony-Anhalt. The company is headquartered in Söllingen in the northern Harz foreland, with a second site in Schlanstedt. Its core business is the breeding of sugar beet and wheat, complemented by the marketing of sunflowers, chickpeas and soybeans. Strube describes itself as part of the RAGT family and breeds and markets seed for agriculture and industry internationally, offering varieties adapted to different geographic requirements. Strube was family-owned for most of its history. On 1 April 2018 the company was sold to the French Deleplanque group (60 percent) and SUET Saat- und Erntetechnik from Eschwege (40 percent). On 29 April 2025 the Deleplanque group, including Strube and Van Waveren, was acquired by the French RAGT group. In a press conference the company announced that from mid-2026 it would continue under the RAGT brand only. The internationally active group develops, produces and sells seed of more than 40 crop species for arable agriculture and industry, and is active in over 50 countries. Strube is a member of the Bundesverband Deutscher Pflanzenzüchter e.V. (German Plant Breeders' Association). It was one of the founding members of the Saaten-Union, founded in 1965, but left the association in 2024. The company's breeding work uses classical breeding methods and plant biotechnology, including doubled haploid production, molecular markers, genetic mapping, field analysis via drone imagery and artificial intelligence, association analyses, sequence analyses and protein analytics. Strube collaborates with universities and institutes such as the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), the Agrana Research & Innovation Center, the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), the Julius Kühn Institute and the Fraunhofer Institute, among others.

Strube's history began in 1877, when the farmer Friedrich Strube started selection breeding of sugar beet, peas and wheat in Schlanstedt, Saxony-Anhalt. In addition to the selection breeding common at the time, he was one of the first German breeders to use artificial crosses. The resulting varieties brought significant improvements in yield performance, standability and other agriculturally important traits compared with the traditional landraces previously grown in fields. Friedrich Strube thus laid the foundation for the plant-breeding company. After the Second World War, the company moved its headquarters from Schlanstedt to the Schlossdomäne in Schöningen, Lower Saxony, due to the expropriation of its original site. Breeding work that had been carried on since 1877 was actively continued there. About ten years after the end of the war, in 1957, Strube bought the disused sugar factory in Söllingen to expand breeding work there. Some time later the company moved its headquarters completely to the former sugar factory. The company's main office is still in Söllingen today. After German reunification, the seed company was able to buy back parts of its original site in Schlanstedt in 1992. One achievement in wheat breeding is Strube's development of a cross between winter wheat and summer wheat. The patented Wechselweizen WeW® is characterized by higher winter hardiness than summer wheat and, unlike winter wheat, requires no or only slight cold stimulus to enter tillering. Strube was one of the founding members of the Saaten-Union, founded in 1965, but left the association in 2024. On 1 April 2018 the previously family-run company was sold to the French Deleplanque group (60 percent shareholder) and SUET Saat- und Erntetechnik from Eschwege (40 percent). On 29 April 2025 the Deleplanque group, including Strube and Van Waveren, was acquired by the French RAGT group. In a press conference the company announced that from mid-2026 it would continue under the RAGT brand only. The internationally active group develops, produces and sells seed of more than 40 crop species for arable agriculture and industry. Together the group is active in over 50 countries. Strube D&S GmbH is a member of the Bundesverband Deutscher Pflanzenzüchter e.V. The company breeds sugar beet and wheat. Its product portfolio also includes sunflowers, chickpeas and soybeans. The varieties are sold worldwide directly or through subsidiaries, representative offices and sales agents. In research and development, Strube uses classical breeding methods and plant biotechnology to develop and propagate varieties of sugar beet and wheat. Methods used include doubled haploid production, development and application of molecular markers, genetic mapping, field analysis using drone imagery and artificial intelligence, association analyses, sequence analyses and protein analytics. The company works in various cooperations with different partners such as universities and institutes and participates in numerous research projects and specialist articles on sugar beet and wheat. For example, together with the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), the Agrana Research & Innovation Center and the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), it develops molecular markers to characterize the storability of sugar beet varieties. Strube is also currently involved in studies by the Julius Kühn Institute – Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants on plant protection: participation in 'GetreideProtekt' aims to develop strategies to protect cereals from fungal diseases increasingly caused by climate change. Together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, the University of Hohenheim and the Institute for Sugar Beet Research, Strube is researching climate-adapted sugar beets in the BeetAdapt project.

• 2026

  From mid-2026, the company will continue under the RAGT brand only; the Strube webshop moves to the RAGT website on 1 July.

• 2025

  On 29 April, the Deleplanque group, including Strube and Van Waveren, is acquired by the French RAGT group.

• 2024

  Strube leaves the Saaten-Union association.

• 2018

  On 1 April, the family-run company is sold to the French Deleplanque group (60%) and SUET Saat- und Erntetechnik (40%).

• 1992

  After German reunification, Strube buys back parts of its original site in Schlanstedt.

• 1965

  Strube is a founding member of the Saaten-Union.

• 1957

  Strube buys the disused sugar factory in Söllingen to expand breeding work.

• 1877

  Friedrich Strube begins selection breeding of sugar beet, peas and wheat in Schlanstedt.

Traditional medium-sized plant-breeding company offering high-quality seed and individual advice, now integrated into the RAGT Group and transitioning to the RAGT brand.

• Sugar beet seed

• Wheat seed

• Sunflower seed

• Chickpea seed

• Soybean seed

• Wechselweizen WeW®

1. 1Strube official websitestrube.net
2. 2Strube – Über unsstrube.net
3. 3Strube D&S – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
4. 4Strube – Wikidatawikidata.org