Seed World Europe

Editors Pick: Articles on Ukraine

Marcel Bruins - Seed World Europe Editorial Director on 12/23/2025

Seed World Europe has chronicled Ukraine’s plant breeding and seed sector since the start of Russia’s invasion, spotlighting resilience, disruption, and ongoing innovation under wartime conditions. Our coverage amplifies the voices of researchers, breeders, institutions, and businesses protecting ge

Editors Pick: Crop Breeding Articles on Vegetables

Marcel Bruins - Seed World Europe Editorial Director on 12/22/2025

Seed World Europe’s Crop Spotlight series explores vegetable breeding across 30+ crops, revealing the science, innovation, and grit behind every variety. From carrot, spinach, lettuce, cucumber, and broccoli to what’s next, breeders tackle emerging diseases, scarce germplasm, and long R&D timelines

Do You Know A Promising Young Plant Breeder In Europe? Nominations Are Open

Seed World Staff on 12/19/2025

Seed World Europe is now accepting nominations for its April 2026 “20 Most Promising Young Plant Breeders in Europe” feature. Nominate early-career plant breeders making an impact across Europe, from universities, research institutes, seed companies, and sector organisations.The post Do You Know A P

UK Late Blight Trends Show Disease Continuing to Evolve

Seed World Staff on 12/19/2025

The 2025 Fight Against Blight (FAB) findings reveal shifting UK late blight strains, including a rise in EU46 resistant to key fungicides. Dry early conditions limited outbreaks, but volunteer potatoes drove infections later. Experts stress rotating fungicides, managing infection sources, and select

AI Offers ‘Roadmap’ to Plant Genetics

Seed World Staff on 12/19/2025

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory researchers combined evolutionary mapping and AI to identify redundant genes that complicate crop improvement. By tracing the CLE gene family across 140 million years and thousands of plant species, they trained models to predict which genes share overlapping functions

New Tool Helps Breeders Identify Stronger Hybrids Faster

Seed World Staff on 12/19/2025

Researchers have developed hQTL-ODS, a faster statistical method to uncover the genetic interactions behind heterosis—hybrid vigour that boosts crop yield. Instead of testing billions of gene combinations, the approach estimates each gene’s contribution through genome-wide interactions. In a wheat s

Fewer Farms, Bigger Businesses: How Dutch Agriculture Is Reshaping

Seed World Staff on 12/18/2025

The Dutch agricultural sector remains economically strong, generating €77 billion in added value and boosting agricultural exports by 4.8%. But farm structure is shifting fast: since 2010, the number of holdings has fallen by nearly one third, with 700 farms and greenhouses closing in 2023–2024. Lar

A New Study Reveals Breakthrough in Barley Genetics

Seed World Staff on 12/18/2025

A multinational team led by Carlsberg Research Laboratory, including scientists from The James Hutton Institute, has identified how the MKK3 gene complex controls seed dormancy and pre-harvest sprouting in cereals like barley, wheat and rice. Published in Science, the findings could guide breeding o

Is Multilateralism Dead? The Lima Breakdown and the Future of Global Seed Cooperation

Marcel Bruins - Seed World Europe Editorial Director on 12/17/2025

GB11 of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources (ITPGRFA) ended without an agreement in Lima (24–29 Nov 2025), exposing deep fractures in global seed cooperation. Talks collapsed over Multilateral System reforms—Annex I expansion, Digital Sequence Information, and benefit-sharing—amid ri

CRISPR Primes Goldenberry for Fruit Bowl Fame

Seed World Staff on 12/17/2025

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory scientists are using CRISPR gene editing to speed up domestication of goldenberry, a nutrient-rich tomato relative long grown in South America. By targeting key genes, researchers produced plants about 35% shorter, improving harvest, maintenance, and potential for dense

The Future of Farming: Talking to Tractors Instead of Tapping Apps

Seed World Staff on 12/17/2025

Researchers at Wageningen University & Research are developing a unified, AI-powered interface that lets farmers manage agricultural robots using natural language, similar to ChatGPT. The system aims to replace fragmented apps, helping farmers plan tasks, manage regulations, and respond to field con

New Research Transforms Potato By-Products into Bio-Based Materials

Seed World Staff on 12/16/2025

Phytoscosmo brings The James Hutton Institute, Grampian Growers and the University of Aberdeen together to transform potato shaws (stems and leaves) into high-value ingredients for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Scotland produces about 51,200 tonnes of shaws annually, usually left in fields. The pro

The Return of Real: Seven Consumer Trends Reshaping the Food Industry

Dawn Ius - Seed World Associate Editor on 12/15/2025

NOURISH Food Marketing’s 2026 trend report, The Return of Real, reveals a major shift in food culture toward authenticity, human connection, and transparency. Consumers are rejecting artificial perfection, ultra-processed foods, and impersonal AI-driven experiences, favoring real food, genuine stori

The Quagmire of Nutritional Studies

Joe Schwarcz - Seed World Columnist on 12/12/2025

Thousands of nutrition studies publish yearly, yet few offer practical guidance. Comparing mouse research on grape compounds and human trials on beetroot nitrates, this analysis highlights the gap between academic interest and real-world impact. Evidence favors whole foods, realistic doses, and huma

Council Progress on EU PRM Legislation Welcomed by Euroseeds

Seed World Staff on 12/12/2025

Euroseeds welcomed progress by the EU Council (under the Danish presidency) on the Plant Reproductive Material file, noting the Council agreed its position on new seed rules and trilogues should start in early 2026. It said the text supports a true internal market with common rules, while keeping fl

Europe’s New NGT Agreement: What the Trilogue Deal Means for Plant Breeding

Marcel Bruins - Seed World Europe Editorial Director on 12/11/2025

Europe is finally reviving EU plant-breeding innovation. After the 2018 court decision pushed NGTs into outdated GMO rules, the new 2025 NGT regulation creates a two-category system that better matches biological reality. This unlocks faster, more precise, climate-resilient crop improvement for farm

The Future of Farm Biostimulants May Start in the Sea

Seed World Staff on 12/09/2025

A James Hutton Institute study shows sugar kelp extracts could help crops absorb nutrients more efficiently under fertiliser-limited conditions. The Innovate UK–supported project, led by Algapelago Marine Ltd, tested barley and beans under nitrogen and phosphorus deficiencies, revealing promising be

Here’s What’s Ahead in Next-Gen Plant Nutrition

Seed World Staff on 12/08/2025

ChatGPT said:Two years after Seed World US first spotlighted his big idea—starting nitrogen innovation at the seed—Arevo CEO Nicolás Åström is now a frontrunner in next-gen, sustainable fertilizer tech. In our latest video interview, he explains why “data, data, data” will decide which innovators su

New Tech Shows How Farms Can Cut Chemicals and Improve Yields

Seed World Staff on 12/05/2025

The eight-year Physics for Food project has demonstrated how plasma and other physical technologies can boost sustainable agriculture and food production. Led by Neubrandenburg University of Applied Sciences and INP, the initiative showed plasma can improve seed health, enhance crop resilience, enab

Green Transition – Plant Breeding Moved to the Forefront

Klaus K. Nielsen on 12/04/2025

Denmark’s Green Tripartite Agreement accelerates climate-smart agriculture, land use reform and biodiversity, helping meet 2030 targets and 2045 climate neutrality. It introduces the world’s first agricultural CO₂e tax on livestock from 2030 and funds long-term plant breeding from 2026 (DKK 50m year

Europe’s Seed Sector Welcomes Trilogue Deal on New Genomic Techniques

Seed World Staff on 12/04/2025

ChatGPT said: Europe’s seed sector welcomes the positive conclusion of trilogue negotiations on New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), as EU co-legislators agreed a new Regulation for NGT plants. The deal largely preserves the Commission’s intent to enable conventional-like NGT crops, supporting farmers wit

EU Reaches Agreement on New Genomic Techniques Regulation for Plant Breeding

Seed World Staff on 12/04/2025

EU institutions have struck a provisional agreement on regulating New Genomic Techniques (NGTs), creating a two-tier system for plant breeding. Category 1 NGTs, equivalent to conventional plants, get streamlined approvals and no product labelling, with seed-level identification. Exclusions (e.g., he

Study Shows Farming Practices Can Improve Fresh Produce Microbes

Seed World Staff on 12/04/2025

A new study from IBMCP (CSIC–UPV) reveals that agricultural biostimulants and controlled saline stress can significantly reshape the endophytic microbiome of lettuce and tomato. Published in Foods, the research shows these treatments boost microbial diversity and increase beneficial genera linked to