Major Genetic Resource Regulatory Decisions Ahead for ITPGRFA
Michael Ryan, co-chair of the working group at the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), talks through some of the biggest issues in seed regulatory today, from the extension of crops in Annex 1 to including DSI/GSD in the ABS system.
The Seed Industry in the Land of the Free
This Fourth of July, I’ll spend the day with my family having fun (hopefully under the sun), eating American staples and capping it off with an amazing fireworks show. I also want to urge myself and you to take a moment to reflect on the spirit of independence that defines this great nation. Today, we celebrate freedom, resilience and the innovative spirit that has driven the United States through generations. The seed industry is an often-overlooked hero of American progress.
This Researcher’s Work is Ushering in the Future of Disease Resistant Pulses
Sabine Banniza’s accomplishments as a researcher are making waves as she envisions a country whose pea and lentil crops are resistant to root rot. Sabine Banniza became a plant pathologist […]
Here’s How We Saw It: Snapshots from Wednesday at ISTA
When one event brings together more than 200 passionate seed experts, every available moment is filled with learning, chatting, reminiscing and exchanging ideas. Here’s a look into the International Seed Testing Association’s Centenary Annual Meeting so far.
Priorities, Politics, and Seed Testing’s Role: Thoughts from ISTA 2024 So Far
We’re three days into the International Seed Testing Association’s Centenary Annual Meeting and I thought I’d take a moment to get some of the thoughts buzzing in my head onto paper. Seed testing is an absolutely critical component of the functioning of the seed value chain, but it’s often easy to narrow it to terms like ‘compliance’ and ‘quality assurance’ rather than thinking of ISTA’s even more important attribute: people.
A New Race of Bremia Lactucae, BL: 37EU Identified and Denominated in Europe
The International Bremia Evaluation Board Europe (IBEB-EU) collected over 500 Bremia isolates from European lettuce in 2019 and 2020. Most of these isolates are local variants. However, one particular isolate, which initially spread predominantly in France, has recently been detected in Spain, Portugal, and Italy.
Here’s How We Saw It: Snapshots from Tuesday at ISTA
Friendships renewed, business partnerships confirmed, business deals in discussion… and a whole lot of handshakes. Here’s a sneak peek at Day 2 of the ISTA Centenary Annual Meeting in Cambridge.
ISTA Holds Open the Door for Young Talent
Like every organization across every part of the seed sector and beyond, the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) knows attracting the next generation — the talented professionals, researchers, analysts and scientists who will be willing and capable of carrying ISTA into the future — is a critical priority. Recognising that need, ISTA initiated a program to support seed testing up-and-comers and spread ISTA’s messages to a demographic ISTA admits it hasn’t always been successful in reaching.
Highlights from ISTA Day 2: How the Work Gets Done
ISTA is, by its very nature and its core mandate, an organization focused on details and structure. Perhaps not surprisingly, it breaks its association work down into an impressively long list of clearly defined working groups called Technical Committees. At ISTA’s Centenary Annual Meeting, the schedule both today (Day 2 of the event) and tomorrow are committed near solely to updates from each of ISTA’s many Technical Committees, including:
Onwards for APSA!
Five months into her new role as executive director at the Asia and Pacific Seed Alliance, Francine Sayoc has grabbed confident hold of the reins and is leading the association in bold new ways forward.
Rijk Zwaan Receives Honorary Royal Title
Rijk Zwaan is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Founded in 1924, it now operates in over 100 countries. The celebrations began on 1 July, the company’s founding date, with the King’s Commissioner announcing that Rijk Zwaan has been granted the Dutch honorary royal title ‘Koninklijk’.
NIAB to Lead Crop Development in New Bezos Sustainable Protein Centre
This initiative will be one of several Earth Fund Centres collaborating with various institutions and industry partners in a $100 million commitment to develop sustainable protein alternatives and broaden consumer choice. This effort is part of a larger $1 billion commitment to food transformation. The Bezos Sustainable Protein Centre will concentrate on three primary areas of alternative protein production: cultured meat, precision fermentation, and plant-based protein.
Here’s How We Saw It: Snapshots from Monday at ISTA
Friendships renewed, business partnerships confirmed, business deals in discussion… and a whole lot of handshakes. Here’s a sneak peek at Day 1 of the ISTA Centenary Annual Meeting in Cambridge.
LIVE from ISTA: Highlights from Day 1
During the last three three-year strategic periods, the ISTA strategy concentrated on growing membership especially in regions where ISTA accredited laboratories were not sufficiently available to the ISTA stakeholders.
ISTA Centennial Annual Meeting Officially Underway: Stay in the Know
The International Seed Trade Association (ISTA) today officially welcomed more than 200 researchers, seed testers, regulators, and more to beautiful Cambridge, UK for the start of ISTA’s Annual Meeting. This year’s event is extra special because it marks ISTA’s 100th anniversary, celebrated in the same city where ISTA was formally created back in 1924.
Low-Cost Soil Nitrate Sensors For Better Nutrient Management
Engineers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (UW-Madison) have created low-cost sensors that allow for real-time, continuous monitoring of nitrate in soil types prevalent in Wisconsin. A UW-Madison news release said these innovative printed electrochemical sensors can help growers make better nutrient management decisions and see economic benefits.
EU Council Deadlock on NGTs Further Delays Innovation for Europe’s Plant Breeders and Farmers
Euroseeds expressed disappointment as EU Member States again failed to agree on the Commission’s proposal for regulating New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), according to a press release. Despite the Spanish and Belgian presidencies’ efforts, differences over the patentability of NGT-derived innovations prevented consensus.
Vandals Destroy Italy’s First Gene-Edited Rice Field Trial
Euroseeds condemns the destruction of Italy’s first open field trial of gene-edited rice by vandals on June 21 in northern Italy. This trial was crucial for testing the resistance of the rice, named ‘RIS8imo,’ against fungal diseases, representing a significant advance in sustainable agriculture.
Do you Know an Amazing Manager? Tell us!
A maverick tends to break away from conventional expectations, showing creativity and originality. This trait can be especially valuable in a seed industry that requires innovation and fresh perspectives. Mavericks […]
CSGA Makes its Pitch to Reintroduce Two Membership Classes
At its virtual annual meeting held June 26, the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association made it pitch to reintroduce two membership classes in what Executive Director Doug Miller said is partly […]
Syngenta Seeds Opens a New-and-Improved Arva R&D Innovation Centre
Syngenta Seeds North America leaders recently welcomed representatives from government, grower organizations, and the seed industry to celebrate the grand re-opening of the Arva Research & Development (R&D) Innovation Centre. […]
Food Security is National Security
Cyber attacks targeting the food and agriculture industry, including the seed sector, are on the rise in the United States. To address these evolving threats, the National Food and Agriculture Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) has partnered with Iowa State University, the University of Nebraska, Purdue University, and Virginia Tech. This collaboration aims to pair university research experts with real-world industry threats, designing solutions to protect the sector.
Rijk Zwaan Celebrating a Century in Business: What’s Ahead?
In this one-on-one chat, Marco van Leeuwen, Managing Director of Rijk Zwaan, looks to the innovations, adaptation, opportunities and challenges on the seed sector’s horizon.
Four St. Louis Startups will be Given the Spotlight at the NAPB’s Upcoming Meeting
The National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB) is getting ready to hold its 2024 meeting in St. Louis, Missouri, from July 21-25 — and this year’s concept is an important […]
USDA Invests $70 Million in Agricultural Projects
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announces a significant investment in innovative agricultural projects. These projects aim to enhance sustainability, boost production, and reduce the environmental impact of agriculture in the United States.
Early Action Smooths the Way for Both Travel and Contra-Season Production
You’d never know from how calm my house looks that soon we will be locking the door and heading north for two months. We head to North Carolina in June […]
Welcome to Cambridge!
ISTA has made tremendous progress in the field of seed science, sampling and testing in the past 100 years. It has become a key organization for verifying the quality of seeds worldwide and has long been at the forefront of global seed and food security.
Innovative Crops Could Significantly Reduce Agriculture’s Climate Impact and Environmental Footprint
The Novo Nordisk Foundation has granted CIMMYT up to USD $21.1 million for an initiative aimed at developing new wheat varieties that can reduce agriculture’s nitrogen footprint. Known as the CropSustaiN initiative, this holds promise for enhancing global food security and environmental sustainability.
Plant Breeding for Climate Change – Carbon Sequestration
“Six years ago, all the professors in plant biology at the Salk Institute decided we wanted to work on climate change because we thought that was the biggest problem that we currently face,” Wolfgang Busch, executive director of Harnessing Plants Initiative at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, says. “We obviously knew that plants are great at capturing carbon dioxide from the air through the process of photosynthesis and we started to think [about] what we could change in plants to make them better at storing more of this captured carbon dioxide for longer.”
ASTA’s Andy LaVigne to Open Seeds Canada’s Annual Meeting in Edmonton
Editor’s Note: Registration is still open for the the Seeds Canada annual meeting! Register via the Seeds Canada website. Seeds Canada’s annual meeting in Edmonton, Alta., taking place July 8-10 […]
Glenn Logan is Helping Pave the Path for Future Seed Leaders as CSGA’s Incoming President
I’ve always believed in the importance of being a good listener. “We have two ears and one mouth for a reason — to listen twice as much as we speak.” Sage […]
Laser Beams and 3-D Printing Improving Crops
Modern plant breeding is now a data-driven endeavor, harnessing machine learning algorithms and advanced imaging technology to select desirable traits. “Plant phenotyping,” the science of gathering precise information and measurements on plants, has seen significant advancements in recent years.
NC State Introduces AI Crop Analysis Tools
North Carolina State University’s N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative (PSI) introduced a robot named BenchBot 3.0 that will be tied to PSI’s newly acquired supercomputer, the NVIDIA Grace Hopper 200, according to a NCSU news release. Together, the two tools will deliver enhanced AI-based data-collection and data analysis for agricultural applications.
ISTA International Rules for Seed Testing are Pivotal to Global Seed Quality
The International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) International Rules for Seed Testing includes 19 Chapters describing principles and definitions in detail. The Rules are designed for many agricultural crops, flowers, trees, shrubs, medical and herbage species.
NAPB Announces 2024 Scholarship Recipients
As it prepares for its annual meeting next month (register by July 1 for a discounted rate), the National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB) has announced the recipients of its […]
Hope From an Unexpected Source in the Global Race to Stop Wheat Blast
When seeking resistance to diseases it is common to search among varieties or old landraces from regions where the disease originated. As wheat blast is a disease of humid sub-tropical regions, efforts to control the disease have focused on finding resistance genes among wheat varieties adapted to warmer climates.