Citadel Tents

Citadel® pollination tents from PBS International provide a reliable, large-scale solution for controlled pollination, hybrid or crossing development and parent seed purity.

Designed for plant breeders and hybrid seed producers, Citadel® tents allow entire plants or crosses to be isolated, helping maintain genetic integrity while reducing labour and increasing efficiency. For smaller-scale applications, pollination bags for plant breeding offer a practical alternative.

Large-Scale Pollination Control for Plant Breeding

Citadel® tents extend the benefits of pollination bags to a larger scale, enabling breeders to contain whole plants or multiple breeding plots within a single structure.

For individual crosses, many breeders use pollination bags, while Citadel® tents deliver the same level of protection across entire plants or plots.

This approach supports:

• Faster scaling of breeding programmes with a 36% increase in seed yield*
• Reduced handling and labour costs
• Improved consistency across trials
• Increased parent seed purity at trial plot level

How Citadel® Pollination Tents Protect Crops and Seed Purity

Manufactured using PBS International’s proprietary duraweb® family of materials, Citadel® tents provide effective protection against unwanted pollen contamination, pests, bird damage and challenging weather conditions.

The material captures pollen as small as 15μm, helping ensure parent seed purity and controlled crossing outcomes.  Its breathability helps to create a microclimate that reduces disease and aids seeds production.

The same material is used across our non-woven pollination bags, ensuring consistent performance in both small- and large-scale applications.

They are built to last, with Midi and Maxi tents having a robust aluminium frame and an interchangeable pollination panel cover system, with 3 different types of material available:

• duraweb® Fortis – our strongest material for wind pollinated crops, designed to withstand extreme wind and rain
• duraweb® Zephyr – a more breathable material, suitable for both indoors and outdoors
• duraweb® Ventis – a robust mesh panel system, suitable for insect pollinated crops.

Reusable Pollination Tents for Long-Term Breeding Programmes

Citadel® midi tents are built with a robust steel frame and reinforced fixing system, tested to withstand winds up to 100kph.

Their modular construction allows for reuse across multiple seasons, with flexible configurations and replaceable panels and components to support long-term cost efficiency. They are flexible in footprint and can be scaled up or down as required and with various height have flexibility to cover taller row crops and even trees

Pollination Tents for Seed Production, Research and Agriculture

Citadel® tents are used globally across agriculture, seed production and research environments where reliable pollination control is essential.

Citadel pollination tents have been developed over several years and trialled in extreme conditions across 3 continents.  They are backed by peer reviewed scientific research, which shows that there are two research publications on their efficacy in the field which highlight the following benefits:

• The microclimate inside Citadel pollination tents contributes to high yield and disease-free seeds*
• The Citadel Midi tent showed a 36% increase in seed yield*
• There was no evidence of pollen contamination in any of the tent fabrics tested*

* Sources: Trammell M, Pittman D, Virk DS, Senior H. (2020). Assessing the effectiveness of nonwoven fabric pollination tents for improved grass breeding. J. Plant Breed. Crop Sci. 12(3):200-218 & Townson P, Virk DS, Senior H (2020). Evaluating the pollen proofing of nonwoven synthetic fabric pollination control tents for sugar beet. J. Plant Breed. Crop Sci. 12(2):228-236.

For the 2026 season, a 20% reduction across the Citadel® range is available to support breeders looking to scale or trial large-scale pollination solutions.

Find Out More

To discuss your requirements or place an order for your breeding programme, contact the PBS International team.