Stock Photo - PRODUCTION - 16 October 2023, Saxony, Wurzen: On the orchard of the testing station of the Bundessortenamt in Wurzen, horticultural engineer and plant variety protection officer Stefan Eschke tests apples for fruit quality and taste that are harvested before the cold days that have been announced. Around 630 apple varieties currently belong to more than 1,500 fruit varieties that are grown, tested, registered and preserved for future generations at Germany's largest facility for pome, stone and soft fruits. In addition to the preservation of existing fruit varieties, some of which are centuries old, there has been a sharp increase in the number of new fruit varieties registered for testing for plant variety protection. Every year, up to 75 applications for variety protection for new varieties are received at the Wurzen federal center, where they are examined by the team of experts in accordance with EU regulations for worldwide use. The testing center in Wurzen was founded more than 120 years ago and is now one of the seven locations of the Federal Plant Variety Office responsible for the protection of varieties of fruit, ornamental plants and vines in Germany. Photo: Waltraud Grubitzsch/dpa. - Wurzen/Saxony/Germany