Growers and supply-chain partners joined Elsoms in Germany to compare 25 sweetcorn varieties, assess performance from field to finished product and see what is coming next for the European market.
Elsoms welcomed customers and industry partners to Germany for its first DACH Sweetcorn Open Day combining field demonstrations, processed product comparisons and crop-monitoring technology.
Hosted with the support of LIKA GmbH, the event brought together growers, processors and technical specialists to compare varieties, share knowledge and explore new developments in sweetcorn.
DACH refers to Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Led by Elsoms DACH sweetcorn specialist Beat Bachmann, visitors explored 25 demonstration varieties in the field and in processed formats. Cooked and vacuum-packed samples, alongside finished products and frozen samples, customers the had the opportunity to assess not only field performance, but also how different varieties could meet processing and end-market requirements.
Building a stronger European sweetcorn portfolio
Elsoms exclusively distributes Crookham Company sweetcorn genetics across Europe, combining Crookham's breeding with local trialling, technical knowledge and direct customer feedback.
That local evaluation continues to grow. During 2026, Beat Bachmann alone visited (321) trial plots, typically assessing each one multiple times during the season. Across the wider Elsoms team, hundreds more trials were evaluated across DACH and other European markets, helping build a clearer picture of which varieties are best suited to different growing conditions and market requirements.
A first look at Gen-S
One of the developments presented during the day was Gen-S, a new generation of Crookham sweetcorn genetics.
Gen-S represents Crookham’s latest development in sweetcorn breeding, with a focus on improved stress tolerance. Early material is expected to enter European evaluation from 2027, helping Elsoms assess its performance across different growing conditions and markets.
Listening to the plant
The event also included a demonstration from Moritz Graeff of Vivent Biosignals.
Vivent's technology captures electrical signals naturally produced by plants and uses machine learning to provide indicators relating to plant activity, nutrient and water status.
Data from the LIKA trial showed how plant responses changed during periods of higher temperature, rainfall and drier conditions, demonstrating the potential for this type of technology to support variety comparisons and improve understanding of crop stress.
Susanne Reichert from Agrarservice Reichert also joined us to share innovative technologies and ideas for the future of sweetcorn production.
Join a future Elsoms event
Elsoms will continue running trials and customer events across Europe, bringing growers closer to new genetics and giving them the opportunity to assess varieties under local conditions before wider commercial introduction.
To attend a future event or request trial seed from the Elsoms sweetcorn portfolio, contact our International team today.
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