Gene Discovery Could Unlock New Era of Barley Breeding

Seed World Staff on 02/03/2026

Scientists at The James Hutton Institute have identified HvST1, a “Sticky Telomeres 1” gene that boosts genetic recombination in barley. Mutations reduced chromosome ‘stickiness’ during meiosis, unlocking genome regions and giving breeders more flexibility to combine traits like drought and disease

EU–UK SPS Chapter Negotiations: The Seed Trade Reset We Can’t Afford to Botch

Marcel Bruins - Seed World Europe Editorial Director on 02/03/2026

After years of post-Brexit disruption, EU–UK SPS negotiations offer a critical chance to simplify seed trade. Reduced border delays, regulatory alignment, and greater predictability could cut costs and restore efficiency. Euroseeds warns success depends on meaningful coverage for seed, mutual recogn

Powdery Mildew Outsmarts Wheat by Masking Key Effector Signal

Seed World Staff on 02/02/2026

University of Zurich scientists uncovered how wheat powdery mildew can bypass genetic resistance without losing its key effector AvrPm4. The fungus deploys a second effector that masks AvrPm4 from the Pm4 resistance protein, yet this suppressor is itself detectable by another wheat resistance gene.

$2M Grant Backs AI Initiative to Protect Crops from Disease

Seed World Staff on 02/02/2026

The Sainsbury Laboratory has secured $2 million from Google.org’s $20 million AI for Science Fund to launch Bifrost, led by Professor Sophien Kamoun. Using DeepMind’s AlphaFold3, Bifrost will predict plant immune receptor–pathogen interactions from genome sequences to speed breeding of disease-resis

What’s Wrong With International Governance These Days?

Niels Louwaars – Seed World Columnist on 02/02/2026

International agreements born in the 1990s era of globalization shaped trade, climate, and biodiversity governance through multilateral cooperation. Three decades later, rising geopolitical tensions, stalled COPs, and growing lobbying have weakened progress. The article argues for smaller, trust-bas

Joint Actions, Resilient Futures: The Global Seed Community’s Next Chapter Unfolds in Lisbon

Seed World Staff on 02/01/2026

Seed sits at the center of food security, sustainable agriculture, and global trade transformation. The ISF World Seed Congress 2026 in Lisbon brings together seed and plant breeding leaders to address climate volatility, innovation, regulation, and markets. Under the theme “Joint Actions, Resilient

The Future of IP in the Regulation of NGTs

Jocelyn Bosse on 01/30/2026

The EU has reached a provisional agreement on New Genomic Techniques regulation, classifying Category 1 NGT plants as equivalent to conventional breeding and outside GMO rules. The framework increases transparency around patents, mandates disclosure, and launches reviews on intellectual property imp

The Regulation Race Is Redrawing Seed Innovation

Aimee Nielson - Seed World U.S. Editor on 01/29/2026

Gene editing is accelerating plant breeding across crops and regions, but global regulatory frameworks may determine who gets to innovate. In a recent webinar, regulatory veteran Daniel Jenkins explains how policy decisions in Latin America, Europe and beyond are shaping the future of seed innovatio

Europe’s Fields May Dry Out More — Even With Higher Rainfall

Seed World Staff on 01/29/2026

University of Reading research published in Nature Geoscience (14 January 2026) warns Europe and western North America will face more frequent, intense crop droughts as warming accelerates soil moisture loss, even where annual rainfall rises. The study maps growing-season drought hotspots and shows

Feeding Pigs Smarter: How Hybrid Rye Is Changing Danish Farming

Seed World Staff on 01/29/2026

Hybrid rye is transforming Danish pig production by improving feed efficiency, animal welfare, and sustainability. In this KWS Seed World Visits episode, farmers and experts show how rye performs on poor soils, supports calmer pigs and healthier digestion, and enables 60–70% inclusion in feed. Learn

Plant Breeding Innovation Clears Next Hurdle for EU NGT Framework

Seed World Staff on 01/28/2026

Euroseeds welcomes the ENVI committee’s strong approval of the NGT Regulation compromise text, moving the EU closer to a modern framework for new genomic techniques. Council confirmation is expected in February or early March, followed by final ENVI and plenary votes likely in April, paving the way

Seeds of Change, Part II – Breeding, Footprints and Future Pathways

Marcel Bruins - Seed World Europe Editorial Director on 01/28/2026

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 b

Euroseeds Calls for Swift Adoption of the NGT Regulation

Seed World Staff on 01/27/2026

As ENVI prepares to vote on the EU New Genomic Techniques Regulation on 28 January, Euroseeds urges support for the agreed compromise. Following successful trilogue negotiations, Euroseeds warns that delays would harm plant breeding innovation, farmer competitiveness, climate-resilient crops, and Eu

ISF Papers Outline a Roadmap for Climate-Resilient, High-Yield Agriculture

Marcel Bruins - Seed World Europe Editorial Director on 01/25/2026

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 va

Why Wheat Yields in North-West Europe Have Stalled

Seed World Staff on 01/23/2026

Wheat yields in north-west Europe have plateaued since the mid-1990s, stabilising around 7–9 tonnes per hectare despite continued genetic gains. Wageningen University & Research analysis combining trials, Dutch farm data and crop modelling finds climate change has not limited yields and has slightly

Turning Insight into Impact: How phenoLytics Is Redefining Seed Phenotyping

Marcel Bruins - Seed World Europe Editorial Director on 01/23/2026

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, processin

Collaboration Links Genomic Analysis with Regulatory Studies and Field Trials

Seed World Staff on 01/23/2026

Staphyt and GenoScreen have signed a collaboration agreement combining genomics, regulatory studies, and field trials for microbial product development. The partnership links genomic characterisation, bioinformatics, laboratory studies, and efficacy trials to support European regulatory requirements

Three-Year UK Award Funds Soybean Rust Resistance Research

Seed World Staff on 01/22/2026

The 2Blades Group at The Sainsbury Laboratory and Bayer won a BBSRC Industrial Partnership Award to develop durable resistance to soybean rust. The £860,000, three-year project will study novel immune gene mechanisms from wild Glycine relatives, aiming to protect soybeans from Phakopsora pachyrhizi,

Adding a New Wing to Pollination: How Polyfly Is Putting Hoverflies to Work

Marcel Bruins - Seed World Europe Editorial Director on 01/21/2026

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 fl

Discussions to Modernize International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources Fail: What’s Next?

Seed World Staff on 01/19/2026

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 disp

What if Ocular Grain Grading Could be Faster, More Accurate, and Objective?

Linnéa Peters – Sales Representative, Cgrain on 01/19/2026

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 s

Researchers Discover Hidden “Early Warning” System in Plant Immune Response

Seed World Staff on 01/16/2026

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

Filmmaker Hidde Boersma: Why High-Yield Innovation Belongs at the Centre of Sustainability

Marcel Bruins - Seed World Europe Editorial Director on 01/16/2026

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 foo

CornPheno Uses AI to Measure Corn Ear Traits with a Smartphone

Seed World Staff on 01/15/2026

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 accu