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Universal has long been an active supporter of tobacco agronomic research in the public and private sectors. In addition to our own internal research, the Company also devotes resources to customer projects and participates in numerous industry research groups.
One of the key areas of industry research is variety development of new flue-cured, burley, dark air-cured, wrapper, and oriental cultivars. In Brazil, Guatemala, Italy, and the United States, Universal maintains in-house variety development programs that focus on developing new varieties of tobacco to better serve the needs of farmers, our customers, and other stakeholders in the tobacco industry. Our goal is to create new varieties with better quality, higher yields, desirable leaf chemistry and subjective characteristics, and improved disease resistance.
Universal has implemented technologies and practices designed to improve variety development, plant selection, and seed production. We employ qualified tobacco breeders and utilize consultants who are experienced in these areas.
The Company conducts variety trials in many of the countries where we procure tobacco to help determine the suitability of those varieties for commercial production. We consider all aspects of variety performance prior to selecting a new variety for commercial production.
In addition to our in-house programs, the Company also supports other variety development and seed production programs in Malawi, Tanzania, the Philippines, Poland, Hungary, Spain, Turkey, Indonesia, and the United States.
We believe it is important to carry out variety development activities in multiple origins to fully address geographically diverse growing environments, conditions, and diseases which are unique to specific areas.
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