Great Wheat Traits Are Being Found. Why Aren’t More Reaching Breeders?

Seed World Staff on 10/08/2026

Niab will lead a three-year wheat pre-breeding project funded by BBSRC to move promising traits into elite European winter wheat backgrounds. The work will involve commercial breeders and international IWYP hubs across the UK, Europe, Mexico and the United States.The post Great Wheat Traits Are Bein

The Flavour Tomato Breeders Lost May Still Be Hiding in the Wild

Seed World Staff on 10/08/2026

Research from the Boyce Thompson Institute shows how wild tomato relatives may help breeders recover flavour and nutritional traits without sacrificing yield, fruit size or shelf life. The study maps regulatory switches tied to tomato fruit quality.The post The Flavour Tomato Breeders Lost May Still

What Genomic Prediction is Worth to Your Program

Computomics on 10/08/2026

Genomic prediction pricing has turned into a rumor market. The figures you hear at breeding conferences, and will hear in Valencia at Euroseeds, span two orders of magnitude — and both extremes can be true. Neither helps you, because genomic prediction isn’t one product.What you’re actually buyingVe

What Agricultural Innovation Looks Like Up Close

Petar Madjarac, Head of Business Development, EMEA, Seed World Group on 10/07/2026

Agricultural innovation cannot eliminate uncertainty, but it can help farmers manage it. A visit to Bayer’s Crop Science headquarters in Monheim shows how advances in plant breeding, crop protection and biologicals are being developed with reliability in the field as the ultimate test.The post What

Seed Sector 2045: Why Plant Breeding IP Matters for Europe’s Future

Marcel Bruins - Seed World Europe Editorial Director on 10/07/2026

Plant breeding IP is becoming central to Europe’s seed innovation debate. This article explains how plant breeders’ rights, patents, licensing platforms and transparency tools can support both investment incentives and practical access to breeding material.The post Seed Sector 2045: Why Plant Breedi

What If Half the Wheat Diversity in the Catalogue Was Not Really Different?

Seed World Staff on 10/07/2026

A University of Córdoba review found GLU-B1 diversity in wheat was overstated, with many recorded alleles duplicated or triplicated. The team has built a verified germplasm collection to help breeders study gluten quality and end-use traits.The post What If Half the Wheat Diversity in the Catalogue

Vylor Is Open for Business: What Changes for Europe’s Seed Sector

Madeleine Baerg - Seed World Executive VP - Operations on 10/05/2026

Vylor seed genetics enters Europe with established brands, breeding programs and global R&D scale. Its leadership sees future growth coming from gene editing, new crops and a larger role as a genetics, technology and licensing partner for other seed companies.The post Vylor Is Open for Business: Wha

Euroseeds Urges Focus on Variety Performance in Organic Breeding Rules

Seed World Staff on 10/02/2026

Euroseeds is urging EU policymakers to keep organic breeding rules focused on variety performance, warning that additional breeding-process requirements could raise costs, reduce genetic access and limit farmers’ variety choice.The post Euroseeds Urges Focus on Variety Performance in Organic Breedin

Leonardo Costa on Corteva’s Seed Applied Technologies (SAT) Next Chapter in EMEA

Marcel Bruins - Seed World Europe Editorial Director on 10/01/2026

Leonardo Costa outlines Corteva SAT priorities in EMEA, including new seed treatment products, customer partnerships, sustainability, resistance management and the team behind the business during a period of major company change.The post Leonardo Costa on Corteva’s Seed Applied Technologies (SAT) Ne

Plant and Bacterial Genetics: The Two Parts of Europe’s Soybean Story

Seed World Staff on 10/01/2026

Protealis is pairing plant breeding with a soybean inoculant designed for European conditions. Its MagNfix technology aims to make pre-inoculated seed practical by maintaining bacterial viability for up to 90 days before planting.The post Plant and Bacterial Genetics: The Two Parts of Europe’s Soybe

Europe’s Embrace of Next Generation Technology a Huge Step Forward

Enid Perez-Lara on 10/01/2026

Europe’s New Genomic Techniques framework opens new opportunities for plant breeders to develop improved crop varieties faster. Enid Perez-Lara argues that clear science communication will be essential as these technologies move forward.The post Europe’s Embrace of Next Generation Technology a Huge

From Data to the Field: How Innovation Becomes Performance

Benoît Pétiard - Head of Research And Development at Mas Seeds on 09/29/2026

MAS Seeds breeding combines climate modelling, genomics, advanced phenotyping and field testing to anticipate future growing conditions. The approach aims to deliver maize and sunflower hybrids with more reliable performance across changing environments.The post From Data to the Field: How Innovatio

8 AI Players to Watch in Crop Breeding

Treena Hein – Seed World Contributor on 09/28/2026

Eight companies and research organizations are advancing AI crop breeding through predictive genomics, crop modeling, gene editing and automated marker analysis. Public researchers are also testing approaches that could shape the next generation of breeding programs.The post 8 AI Players to Watch in

Could 240 Million Smallholders Feed the World’s Next 1.5 Billion People?

Seed World Staff on 09/28/2026

Smallholder farmers could help meet rising global food demand while restoring soils and strengthening rural livelihoods, a new book argues. Whole Earth Farming proposes helping 240 million farming families adopt regenerative agriculture and agroforestry.The post Could 240 Million Smallholders Feed t

Early Heat Hurts Wheat Most but Could Build Resilience

Seed World Staff on 09/25/2026

Wheat heat stress causes the greatest yield losses when heat waves strike before flowering, field experiments show. However, early exposure may also prime wheat to better withstand a second heat wave later in the growing season.The post Early Heat Hurts Wheat Most but Could Build Resilience appeared

Why Is Europe Still Importing So Much of Its Livestock Protein?

Seed World Staff on 09/23/2026

European protein crops are the focus of a new €5.5 million Horizon Europe project aimed at reducing reliance on imported livestock feed. PROCEED will connect growers, processors and livestock farmers to develop viable local routes from grain and forage legumes to feed.The post Why Is Europe Still Im

The Next Soybean Breakthrough May Be Underground

Seed World Staff on 09/22/2026

Deeper-rooted soybeans are being tested to determine whether they can improve drought resilience and store more carbon underground. Field trials will also examine yields, nutrient capture and the potential trade-offs of changing soybean root systems.The post The Next Soybean Breakthrough May Be Unde

Precision Pollination Could Improve Fruit Crops

Seed World Staff on 09/22/2026

Precision pollination research led by the James Hutton Institute and AgriSound will use in-field sensors and artificial intelligence to monitor pollinator activity across fruit crops. The project aims to help growers identify pollination gaps and support fruit breeding for improved yield and quality

Seed Size Signal Could Support Bigger Crop Seeds

Seed World Staff on 09/21/2026

Seed size research has identified a peptide signal that helps coordinate communication between the embryo and endosperm during seed development. Early crop proof-of-concept work suggests boosting the pathway could support larger seeds.The post Seed Size Signal Could Support Bigger Crop Seeds appeare

Crop Side Streams Could Become Consumer Foods

Seed World Staff on 09/17/2026

Crop side streams from rapeseed, legumes and potatoes could become new foods for human consumption through the VASCO research project. Wageningen researchers will explore protein extraction, fermentation and supply chain barriers to bring products closer to market.The post Crop Side Streams Could Be

Seed Sector 2045: The Future Seed Sector May Be More Layered Than Larger

Marcel Bruins - Seed World Europe Editorial Director on 09/17/2026

The seed sector of 2045 may be shaped less by size alone and more by layered innovation networks. Consolidation, specialist breeders, start-ups, public-private partnerships, IP frameworks and technology platforms could all influence how new varieties reach farmers.The post Seed Sector 2045: The Futu

18% More Maize, 27% Less Nitrogen Loss?

Seed World Staff on 09/16/2026

G&E maize varieties could help increase global maize production while reducing reactive nitrogen losses, according to new research. The study maps priority genomic regions and highlights the need to combine yield, stress tolerance and nutrient efficiency traits at scale.The post 18% More Maize, 27%

One Tomato. Two Eggs’ Worth of Vitamin D?

Seed World Staff on 09/15/2026

Sunshine tomato, a precision-bred crop enriched with pro-vitamin D3, has passed a key regulatory milestone in England. Researchers say the biofortified tomato could support public health while moving closer to commercial sale.The post One Tomato. Two Eggs’ Worth of Vitamin D? appeared first on Seed

Ukraine’s New GMO Law: What It Means for the Seed Sector and EU Integration

Marcel Bruins - Seed World Europe Editorial Director on 09/14/2026

Ukraine GMO law will introduce a broader framework for genetic engineering, GMO registration, labelling, traceability and enforcement. For the seed sector, the reset raises practical questions about implementation, crop restrictions and future alignment with EU rules.The post Ukraine’s New GMO Law: