b'INSIDERSBIOSTIMULANTBiostimulants are a Main Feature & No Longer Just an Add-onJAMES MAUDESenior Vice-President Portfolio DevelopmentAcadian Plant HealthAs we continue to progress within theoptimize crop productionwith suspicion.Acadian Plant Health is known for its agriculture industry, weve noticed thereThe agricultural inputs industry needs tosustainable biostimulant products that are remains a misconception that performancesee beyond the current state of agriculturemade from seaweed extracts. At Acadian, and sustainability are mutually exclusive.and offer sustainable solutions that providewere creating meaningful value for mul-That eco-friendly products cannot deliverhigh-value crop productivity. Biostimulantstinationals, formulators, distributors and the crop performance growers need. Atshould no longer be viewed as a peripheralfarmers. Were doing that by providing Acadian Plant Health, were challengingadd-on but as an essential component oftools that can sit alongside and complement this conventional thinking and doing sosustainable agriculture. existing technologies.with proven science from the past 40 yearsTo turn this vision into reality we needWe aim to build on our existing lead- biostimulants can deliver stronger resultsdeep and lasting changes to our global foodership position in the global biostimulant in a sustainable and regenerative manner. and agriculture systems to unleash the mostsector and develop innovative solutions Acadian Plant Healths recentlyimportant change opportunity in our indus- that can manage abiotic stress factors like announced Sea Beyond rebranding is atry in 75 years.drought, heat, cold, salinity and nutrient nod to this vision of reconciling the trade- Sea Beyond aims to address the chal- deficiencies.off between performance and sustainabil- lenges faced by the agricultural industryOur industry is faced with challenges ity. With collaboration and innovation, wesuch as climate change. We do this by devel- brought by unprecedented change happen-believe we can continue to develop solutionsoping technological solutions that responding the world over. That means changing that meet the growing demand for foodto the needs of agricultural productionthings on a global scale. Lets see beyond while also preserving our planets naturalsystems. The vision of Sea Beyond is to gothe conventional and work together to resources. beyond the traditional limits of the agricul- advance sustainability, for the benefit of Our industry has a long history oftural industry and bring innovative solutionsplant and planet.regarding biological crop protection prod- that can help farmers cope with the impacts uctsnaturally occurring materials thatof climate change on crop productivity.CORN, SORGHUM AND OILSEEDSHow to Support Farmers Towards Tomorrows AgricultureSANDRINE LEGROSRAPESEED BREEDING LEADERLIDEAThe growth and development of the oil- behaviours linked with the need for highernetwork to take into account the maximum seed rape plant is a long and complex pro- oil and protein content and the limitationnumber of situations encountered. High cess. During the life cycle from sowing toof glucosinolates. That are all reasons toautumn insect pressure in France, recurring harvesting, a plant can suffer from vari- develop a great interest in rapeseed growingpresence of Cylindrosporium in the United ous stresses: abiotic stresses (water excess,and development all over Europe. Kingdom, Phoma stem canker (blackleg), frost, drought, alkalinity, and salinity);Overall, the major goals always comecaused by Leptosphaeria maculansspread-and biotic stresses (pest pressure in autumndown to yield increase, improved quality,ing throughout countries from France to and spring or diseases such as stem canker,and resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses.Romania, all-pervading Sclerotinia scle-Cylindrosporium, or Sclerotinia sclerotiorum).To achieve these objectives, there arerotiumall these and many other agri-These stresses severely affect yield stabilityas many criteria to reckon with in varietalcultural issues in rapeseed production are and restrict yield potential. characteristics and breeding programs asoften resolved by methods that are far from Therefore, the primary oilseed rapeantagonistic aspects that complicate thebeing respectful to the environment. In an breeding objectives are tolerance to extremeselection.ever-changing situation, we must turn to environmental stress and enhanced diseaseMost traits of interest for yield, qual- more sustainable, genetic solutions. resistance by considering the decrease ofity, and diseases resistances have a complexTo achieve transversality and varietal phytopharmaceutical treatments. polygenic basis. At Lidea, we use highlyspecificities in oilseed rape stretched our In addition, hybrid development inefficient selection tools to identify desira- trial network across 12 European countries. rapeseed aims at satisfying the require- ble genes for breeding while shortening theIt permits us to develop a breeding model ments of manufacturers and consumers.breeding cycle and widening genetic diver- that characterises climates and interaction That should combine good agronomicsity. It is crucial to have a large experimentalbetween genotype and environment.28IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM'