An institute for a plant
Long before Gregor Mendel's peas revealed the secrets of heredity, botanists in the Dordogne region were already manipulating plant genetics. The area around Bergerac has been a center for tobacco cultivation since the 1600s. The plant, Nicotiana tabacum, was introduced to France in the mid-16th century and promoted by figures like Jean Nicot, who gave the plant its genus name. By the 18th century, the economic importance of tobacco prompted early, organized efforts to improve the crop through selective breeding. These pre-scientific programs involved crossing plants with desirable characteristics—such as larger leaves or resistance to local climate conditions—to produce more robust and profitable harvests.
This tradition of agricultural science was formalized in the 20th century. The Institut du Tabac (Tobacco Institute) was founded in Bergerac in 1927. It was established to address a lag in French tobacco industry practices compared to international competitors. For decades, the institute was a primary center for tobacco research in Europe, operating under the French state tobacco monopoly, SEITA (Société nationale d'exploitation industrielle des tabacs et des allumettes). The facility functioned as a 90-hectare agricultural operation, complete with its own livestock to provide manure for amending the tobacco fields.
From blue mold to biotechnology
The institute's research programs evolved with agricultural science. In the 1960s and 1970s, a major focus was combating a blue mold epidemic that threatened tobacco crops. Scientists developed new, resistant varieties, such as the dark air-cured PBD6. As consumer tastes changed, researchers also worked to create Burley and flue-cured tobacco varieties suited to French growing conditions. By 1999, F1 hybrids developed at the Bergerac institute were planted on 78% of France's flue-cured tobacco acreage and 47% of its Burley crop.
The institute developed modern laboratories and greenhouses, including new biology labs built in 1991. Its work involved creating a vast botanical collection of Nicotiana species, considered unique in Europe. This genetic library contained over 1,200 declared varieties, which was the raw material for breeding programs. Research extended beyond simple hybridization to include assessments of leaf quality and chemical composition, including the tar and nicotine content of smoke.
The state monopoly ended in the 1970s, and after a series of corporate mergers, the institute's activities declined. The last laboratory closed in April 2022. However, the work continues in a new form. A private company, Bergerac Seed and Breeding (BSB), was established on the former institute's grounds. It maintains the historic seed collection, which it uses for ongoing tobacco breeding and has expanded its expertise to other plants, including fruits and vegetables.