Seeds of Change, Part II – Breeding, Footprints and Future Pathways
In Part 2 of Seed World Europe’s Seeds of Change series, leaders from Bayer, Semillas Fitó, RiceTec and Syngenta explain how sustainability in the seed sector goes beyond field traits to include operations, culture and collaboration. Through shared action under ISF’s ESR-CG, companies are aligning breeding innovation, measurable targets and internal practices to deliver more productive, responsible and climate-resilient agriculture.
TomViz Platform Opens Access to Tomato Gene Regulatory Networks
A Plant Communications study mapped tomato gene regulation across root, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed using 10,000+ expression datasets and machine learning. Researchers built organ-specific gene regulatory networks, confirming known ripening and ABA pathways and identifying new regulators, including SlGBF3 for water-stress response. All networks are available in TomViz, enabling faster discovery for stress-resilient tomato breeding.
La plataforma TomViz abre el acceso a las redes reguladoras de genes del tomate
Un estudio en Plant Communications mapeó la regulación génica del tomate en raíz, hoja, flor, fruto y semilla usando más de 10.000 datasets y aprendizaje automático. Se construyeron redes reguladoras específicas por órgano, confirmando vías de maduración y ABA e identificando nuevos reguladores, como SlGBF3 para estrés hídrico. Las redes están en TomViz, acelerando la mejora de tomates resilientes.
ISF Papers Outline a Roadmap for Climate-Resilient, High-Yield Agriculture
Sustainability in agriculture starts with seed, argue Ben Rivoire and Khaoula Belhaj-Fragnière of the International Seed Federation. New ISF papers highlight how plant breeding innovation boosts yields, resilience and resource efficiency while reducing environmental impact. From climate-resilient varieties to supportive, science-based policy, the seed sector is positioned as a foundation for sustainable, productive and inclusive global food systems.
Turning Insight into Impact: How phenoLytics Is Redefining Seed Phenotyping
phenoLytics won first prize at the 2025 Euroseeds InnovAction Stage for its high-throughput 3D and 4D X-ray CT seed phenotyping solutions. The technology delivers ground-truth data on seed and seedling quality across the entire value chain, enabling faster, objective decisions in breeding, processing and quality control while reducing waste and unlocking greater genetic and commercial value.
Early Planting Key to Improving Oilseed Yield and Quality, INTA Finds
INTA Paraná analyzed grain quality in soybeans, flax, and rapeseed to support food and energy industries. The study measured protein, oil, amino acids, and phosphorus, identifying regional differences and high-value environments. Results guide genetic improvement, crop management, and cultivar selection, boosting biofuel potential, animal nutrition efficiency, and the sustainability of Argentina’s agri-food chains.
Siembra Temprana Clave para Mejorar el Rendimiento y la Calidad de las Oleaginosas, Según el INTA
INTA Paraná estudió la calidad de granos de soja, lino y colza para fortalecer las industrias alimentaria y energética. El trabajo evaluó proteínas, aceites, aminoácidos y fósforo, detectando diferencias regionales clave. Los resultados orientan el mejoramiento genético, el manejo agronómico y la selección de cultivares, impulsando biocombustibles, nutrición animal y la sustentabilidad agroindustrial.
Adding a New Wing to Pollination: How Polyfly Is Putting Hoverflies to Work
For decades, seed production relied almost exclusively on bees for managed pollination. Polyfly is rethinking that model by industrializing the mass rearing of hoverflies as an alternative pollinator. Recognized at the 2025 Euroseeds InnovAction Stage, Polyfly offers breeders and seed producers a flexible, resilient and scalable pollination solution that improves yield reliability across diverse crops and growing conditions.
ABRATES Releases Free Digital Reference on Seed Pathology
Abrates, through its Seed Pathology Committee (Copasem), released the free digital book Seed Pathology: Basic Science, Brazil’s most comprehensive reference on the topic. With 13 chapters by 50 experts, it strengthens seed health standards, diagnostics, and disease management, supporting sustainable agriculture, regulatory rigor, and professional training across the seed production chain.
Canada-China Trade Reset Signals New Opportunities for Canadian Seed and Canola Exports
Renewed engagement, tariff relief and ongoing dialogue with China are being welcomed as exporters look for stability and market predictability
Discussions to Modernize International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources Fail: What’s Next?
Lima, Peru marked a missed opportunity to modernize the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources. High hopes to address digital sequence information, benefit-sharing, and access reforms collapsed into stalemate. With negotiations halted, the seed sector warns that growing sovereignty disputes and policy inertia threaten global cooperation, biodiversity conservation, and future food security.
ABRATES lanza una referencia digital gratuita sobre patología de semillas
Abrates, a través del Comité de Patología de Semillas (Copasem), lanzó el libro digital gratuito Patología de Semillas: Ciencia Básica, la obra más completa en Brasil sobre el tema. Con 13 capítulos y 50 especialistas, refuerza la sanidad de semillas, los diagnósticos y el manejo de enfermedades, impulsando la sostenibilidad, la estandarización y la capacitación en la cadena semillera.
What if Ocular Grain Grading Could be Faster, More Accurate, and Objective?
Cgrain and Lantmännen are modernizing grain grading with AI-driven image analysis that automates ocular inspection. A patented V-shaped mirror and camera capture 90%+ of each kernel’s surface to detect defects, measure size and weight, and standardize results. Trained on global image datasets, the system delivers objective, reproducible quality control and can sort kernels into accept/reject streams to boost high-quality yield.
Three Big Takeaways from #IPSA2026
IPSA CEO talks about the shift in the independent seed space. The word carried a lot of weight at the 2026 conference. This video explores the shift in focus.
“Here’s What I Heard at #IPSA2026” – Cat Frans, IPSA COO
IPSA’s Cat Frans talks about the conversations that are pushing the seed industry forward.
Canada Secures Major Canola and Agriculture Trade Breakthrough in New China Partnership
The agreement follows Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Beijing this week — the first by a Canadian prime minister since 2017
Over Coffee: Candid Chat with IPSA’s Incoming & Outgoing Presidents
Scott Sanders wraps up his time as Independent Professional Seed Association President and Aaron Conaway steps into the hot seat.
Understanding Hybrid Canola Seed Testing and Performance Prediction
Hybrid canola seed testing has evolved into something fundamentally different from testing most other crops
How Triticale Cultivars Support Better Vetch Performance in Service Crops
INTA Bordenave developed two new triticale varieties, Justo INTA and Dardo INTA, combining wheat productivity with rye rusticity. Designed for forage and service crops, they deliver higher biomass, disease and pest resistance, and better adaptation to Argentine conditions. These cultivars improve grazing, silage performance, and crop rotations, enhancing sustainability and production efficiency across diverse farming systems.
Researchers Discover Hidden “Early Warning” System in Plant Immune Response
University of Warwick researchers have identified a rapid, jasmonate-driven early immune response that activates systemic acquired resistance (SAR) within hours of infection. Published in Nature Plants, the study used a new live-imaging reporter, JISS1:LUC, to track fast immune signals spreading to uninfected leaves before salicylic acid defences build. The discovery could support new crop protection strategies to reduce disease spread and yield loss.
Filmmaker Hidde Boersma: Why High-Yield Innovation Belongs at the Centre of Sustainability
This two-part interview with Dutch science journalist and filmmaker Dr. Hidde Boersma examines how a 1970s “harmony with nature” narrative came to define sustainability by promoting less growth and less technology. Boersma argues this mindset undermines high-yield agriculture, plant breeding and food security, and makes the case for a more inspiring sustainability story based on innovation, abundance and land-sparing solutions.
CornPheno Uses AI to Measure Corn Ear Traits with a Smartphone
CornPheno is a smartphone-based AI system that measures key corn ear traits—kernels per ear, rows per ear and kernels per row—directly in field conditions. Developed by Hao Lu’s team and reported in Plant Phenomics (15 October 2025), it outperformed several counting models and maintained strong accuracy outdoors. Integrated into the WeChat-based OpenPheno mini-program, CornPheno supports faster, lower-cost phenotyping for corn breeding and research.
Cómo los cultivares de triticale contribuyen a un mejor rendimiento de la veza en cultivos de servicio
INTA Bordenave desarrolló dos nuevas variedades de triticale, Justo INTA y Dardo INTA, que combinan la productividad del trigo con la rusticidad del centeno. Orientadas a forraje y cultivos de servicio, ofrecen mayor producción de biomasa, resistencia a enfermedades y plagas, y amplia adaptación. Mejoran el pastoreo, el silaje y la sustentabilidad de los sistemas productivos.
What’s Next for Canadian Seed? Doug Miller Weighs in as he Exits CSGA
Miller’s tenure has coincided with some of the most consequential changes in Canadian seed policy in decades, most notably seed regulatory modernization
IPSA Celebrates Three Leaders with Lifetime Achievement Awards
IPSA awarded three seed industry leaders with Lifetime Achievement Awards at its annual meeting in Indianapolis.
High-Value Seed Is Tracked Less Than a $20 Amazon Package — Until Now
Even as supply chains track every step of a low-cost online purchase, billions of dollars in seed still move across North America with little to no visibility once they leave the shipper. This video explores why seed transportation and storage remain a blind spot, what risks that creates for seed companies and growers, and how real-time data is finally making full seed traceability possible.
Planning for a World That Won’t Hold Still: Momentum Without Guarantees
The January issue of Seed World U.S. is chock full of information relevant to independent seed companies. We explore a rich slate of topics from niche seed business to political uncertainty.
Forget Scale — Go Local
Small seed firms specialize to reach a diverse, niche market. We are exploring why the next surge of seed innovation begins in independent companies with a vision.
Chilean Scientists Boost Antioxidant Levels in Tomatoes Without Affecting Plant Growth
Chilean scientists at the University of Chile boosted tomato lipoic acid by fruit-specific overexpression of lipoyl synthase (LIP1), increasing both free and protein-bound forms without harming plant growth. Published in Frontiers in Plant Science, the study shows antioxidant enrichment can reshape tomato fruit metabolism while preserving development. The approach, tested in Micro-Tom tomatoes, supports future precision options like gene editing.
Ghana–Netherlands Partnership Targets Quality Vegetable Seed for Farmers
Ghana launched the Ghana Seed Partnership (GSP) on 29 October 2025 in Accra, deepening Ghana–Netherlands agribusiness cooperation. The initiative unites 13 public, private and research partners to modernize Ghana’s vegetable seed sector, improve access to quality seed and inputs, and boost horticulture growth. Four work packages target regulation, commercial seedling nurseries, variety trials, and market development for hybrids nationwide adoption.
European NGT Regulations: Risks of Divergence and Adhocracy
UK, EU and Swiss NGT regulations due by 2026 remain fragmented and incoherent. The UK uses a product-based, two-tier system with lighter rules for precision breeding. The EU and Switzerland retain process-based, ad hoc approaches driven by activist pressure, creating patent uncertainty, research flight, consumer confusion and ineffective sustainability policy that undermine innovation, alignment and food chain resilience across Europe.
Scientists Uncover Shared Genetic Adaptations in Barley and Wheat
Researchers from The James Hutton Institute’s International Barley Hub and an INRAE-UCA-led consortium have found genomic evidence of convergent selection in barley and wheat. Published in Nature Plants, the study analysed 1,300+ barley and wheat lines, identifying shared variants linked to development, drought avoidance and domestication. The findings could accelerate precision breeding and “inter-crop translational breeding” to improve resilience and safeguard yields.
CSGA and AAFC Leadership Changes Mark a Turning Point for Canada’s Seed Industry, says Manitoba Seed Growers President
A statement from Simon Ellis is drawing attention to two major leadership departures that signal both recognition and concern for the sector
Departure of Senior AAFC Breeder Sparks Renewed Calls for Long-Term Wheat Breeding Strategy
Richard Cuthbert’s reported exit comes at a moment of mounting pressure on public research capacity
#IPSA2026: Where Independent Seed Comes Together
The Independent Professional Seed Association (IPSA) started its 2026 Conference with his highest-ever attendance in Indianapolis.
Genome-Based Models Predict Rapeseed Flowering Time and Yield
A study in Horticulture Research shows that optimized genomic prediction models can accurately forecast flowering time, yield traits and oil content in rapeseed using genome-wide data. By integrating GWAS-linked variants with statistical and machine-learning methods, researchers achieved over 90% accuracy for flowering time and thousand-seed weight. The approach can speed selection, reduce breeding cycles and improve multiple traits simultaneously.