b'INDUSTRY NEWSTAILORED TO SEED PROFESSIONALS, INDUSTRY NEWS DELIVERS THE PEOPLE, RESEARCH, BUSINESS AND PRODUCT NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW. SUBMISSIONS ARE WELCOME. EMAIL US AT NEWS@SEEDWORLDGROUP.COM.FAO launched the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026lining traits that usually take years of breeding. By editing genes in late December to recognize womens vital, often overlooked roleslinked to plant architecture, they produced goldenberry plants about in agrifood systems and to close gender gaps. Proclaimed by the UN35% shortereasier to harvest and potentially suited to denser in 2024, it promotes policy reform and investment with IFAD andplanting. After selecting for compact growth and better taste across WFP coordinating 2026 activities. Women comprise a large sharegenerations, they developed two promising lines, and plan further of agricultural work yet face precarious jobs and limited access toedits for traits like fruit size and disease resistance.land, finance, technology, and decision-making.A Nature Communications study says Europe could cut agricultural FAO Ukraine, funded by the EU and partners, opened a perma- greenhouse-gas emissions by up to 40% and reduce biodiversity nent Duplicate Centre for Plant Genetic Resources and handedpressure without lowering food output by shifting production away it to Ukraines National Academy of Agrarian Sciences. Built afterfrom suboptimal cropland. About 14% of Europes cropland is the 2022 attack on the Kharkiv gene bank, it secures 51,000 relo- poorly suited for crops, often degraded and overlapping biodiversi-cated seed samples in a modern facility and supports upgrades likety-priority areas. The authors propose retiring these areas for vegeta-a 20242028 national strategy and the GRIN-Global database.tion regrowth while maintaining production through intensification The centre safeguards unique crop diversity vital for breeding andor more diverse, habitat-friendly extensification elsewhere.food security.Fight Against Blights 2025 UK monitoring found late blight con-A Nature Plants study found barley and wheat often evolved similartinues to evolve, reinforcing the need for resistant potato varieties genetic adaptations to shared environmental pressures, despiteand careful fungicide rotation. Dry spring weather delayed out-being distantly related. Researchers compared genomes from 1,300+breaks, but 81 were sampled, over half from volunteer plants. EU36 barley and wheat lines and identified convergent selection in genesremained dominant, while EU46 rose to 23% of samples and carries affecting development, inflorescence structure, starch traits, roots,oxathiapiprolin resistance; EU37 and EU13 were rare. Guidance drought avoidance, and domestication. The findings support trans- stresses alternating actives and managing infection sources.lational breedingusing trait-linked variants from one crop to guide improvement in another. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory researchers mapped 140 million years of evolution in the CLE gene family and used AI models to Wageningen University & Research is developing an integrated,predict which redundant genes overlap in function and should ChatGPT-like interface to help farmers manage agricultural robotsbe edited to change traits. After finding thousands of CLE genes using everyday language instead of multiple apps and screens. Theacross 1,000 species, they validated predictions in tomato: single system aims to simplify control of autonomous machines, improveknockouts had little effect, but removing a set of 10 redundant genes decision-making using real-time data on weather, crops, andproduced clear growth changes. The approach could scale to other regulations, and address labour shortages. Researchers say natu- gene families for crop improvement.ral-language AI could make advanced robotics more accessible and efficient on farms within the next few years. A multinational team led by Carlsberg Research Laboratory, with James Hutton Institute scientists, identified how the MKK3 gene Project Opportunity reported successful first field trials in Swedencomplex controls seed dormancy and pre-harvest sprouting in and Denmark of CRISPR-enhanced starch potatoes with improvedcereals. Published in Science, the work shows different MKK3 var-late blight resistance. The consortium has multiplied seed to enableiants shape the balance between sprouting risk and reliable germi-larger, dedicated field trials planned for 2026 to evaluate the bestnation demanded by malting and farming. The insights could guide resistance events. The 12-partner European project aims to advancebreeding of barley, wheat, and rice better able to withstand warm, responsible approval and use of new breeding techniques and hashumid conditions as climates change. already improved the widely used starch potato variety Kuras.Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory researchers are using CRISPR to rapidly domesticate goldenberry, a tomato relative, by stream-FEBRUARY 2026|SEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPEISEED WORLD EUROPE I 37'