The German Society for Plant Breeding e.V. (GPZ) is the scientific society for the improvement of plants by breeding and research on the genetic basis of plant breeding. It was founded in Göttingen in 1991 through the merger of the Plant Breeding Working Group of the Society for Plant Production Sciences in the Federal Republic of Germany and the Society of Plant Breeders in the former GDR. Currently, the GPZ has more than 800 full members and several  supporting members.

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 Every two years, the GPZ organises a scientific congress covering topical issues of  plant breeding at different locations in conjunction with the general assembly. In the intervening years, the “Quedlinburg Plant Breeding Days” take place, at which young scientists present the results of their doctoral theses, accompanied by further scientific lectures. During this event, the GPZ awards the “Kurt von Rümker Prize” for the best lecture by a young scientist in the field of plant breeding. Also,  the 20 GPZ working groups regularly invite to conferences and workshops. These are devoted to methodological and plant-specific questions from diverse areas ranging from biometry to genome analysis and from resistance breeding to the history of plant breeding. An overview of the working groups can be found under the heading “working groups”. The Society publishes conference papers in loose succession in its series “Lectures for Plant Breeding“.

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