For more than 30 years, 20/20 Seed Labs has been a leader in seed diagnostics in Canada, pioneering advances that give growers the clarity they need to make better decisions. But recently, we’ve taken a bold step forward — expanding beyond the lab and into field trials. This evolution is driven by a simple truth: the answers growers need often lie beyond the Petri dish.
In the lab, many tests are necessarily constrained by time and space. Take Canadian germination testing, for example — most analyses run for a maximum of about 14 days. But plants don’t stop growing in the real world after two weeks. We began to ask ourselves: what happens if we extend those observations? What more can we learn by following growth in the field?
That question became a strategic turning point. Our first field trial projects grew from the need to bridge lab diagnostics with real-world performance. One example is bacterial leaf streak. We developed a lab test to detect it quickly, but growers then wanted to understand what a positive result really meant in the field. Partnering with AAFC Lacombe, we designed trials to correlate lab results with disease severity under real conditions. This kind of connection between lab and field transforms testing from a static result into actionable insight.
Field trials also allow us to respond directly to grower feedback. After hearing concerns about mechanical damage in large-seed crops, we took samples rated “low” in the lab into a greenhouse, and later into a field trial. We observed growth beyond initial expectations, producing data that can influence how testing is standardized. That is powerful — it means our diagnostics are not just accurate in theory but validated in the field.
Field trials are the next chapter in our legacy — a step toward integrating lab science with field reality so we can deliver the answers growers truly need.
