b'that will have the greatest impact on yourEdison Agrosciences is tackling this success, both in your career and personalissue by boosting the natural rubber life. concentration in sunflower. In academia, theres a strong empha- Were still in the early days, but by sis on publishing papers, being the leadthe end of next year, we hope to have author, and pushing forward indepen- testable products that companies like dently, Trenhaile notes. But when youGoodyear and Bridgestone can use to move into industry, the focus shifts create real-world rubber products, he you need to be more collaborative andsaid.work effectively within a team.But its not just well-known plants I think thats a skill that can some- like sunflower that are making waves as times be lacking. Another critical skillBorlaug Scholar Deysi Alvaro Ceja is studentthe plant breeding revolution goes on, is communication, and this isnt justresearch assistant at the University ofconference attendees heard.important in plant breedingits cru- California-Davis. In May, panelist Kevin Cook and his cial for everyone. Often, people hesitateteam at CoverCress reached a mile-to admit theyre stuck, but I believe thatstoneharvesting over 1,000 acres reaching out and communicating withof CoverCress, a winter oilseed crop colleagues can lead to faster solutionsdeveloped from field pennycress, which than trying to figure everything out ondidnt exist in agriculture a decade ago. your own. Hes spearheading a revolutionnot Borlaug Scholar Deysi Alvarojust tweaking existing crops but invent-Ceja, student research assistant at theing entirely new ones. University of California-Davis, did justBack in 2013, CoverCress (formerly that. She sought out mentors who helpedArvegenix) was founded by a group of guide her to becoming successful in plantinnovators inspired by USDA research.breeding. Its her top piece of advice toThey saw potential in pennycress oil for others just getting started out. Shes nowbiofuels. The timing was perfect.working to boost the vitamin C contentBut they needed germplasmsome-of tomato. thing to build on. So, company found-Immerse yourself in hands-oners literally drove across the country, experiences and never stop learning.collecting pennycress from ditches and This field is all about continuous growththis seed became the foundation of the and development. Its also crucial to notPaul Skroch of Edison Agrosciences speaksbreeding program. An early employeebe afraid of taking risks and pursuingduring the closing panel at this years NAPBbrought back a sample from the side of a opportunities that push you out of yourmeeting in St. Louis. Colorado highway. comfort zone, she said.That sample turned out to be a As a first-generation grad student, itgame-changer, with early vigour and a was tough to overcome the fear of put- shatter resistance genetraits we des-ting myself out there and asking for help.With a PhD in plant breeding fromperately needed, he said.But breaking that barrier was a game- the University of Wisconsin, hes focus- Theyve developed a greenhouse changer for me. ing on experimental design and data.operation that allows them to complete Hes currently vice-president of breedingfour cycles per year, pushing the bounda-Revolutionizing Plant Breedingfor Edison Agrosciences in St. Louis,ries of whats possible in crop domestica-Thirty years ago, Paul Skroch steppedwheres hes working to capture thetion. outside of his comfort zone and foundpotential of natural sunflower rubber.himself in a room speaking to a groupThe United States relies on over $2 of aspiring plant scientists. He was abillion worth of natural rubber each year, graduate student with dreams of revo- used in countless products due to its lutionizing agriculture through cutting- unique properties that synthetic mate-edge research. Fast-forward to the NAPBrials cant replicate. It turns out, U.S. conference in St. Louis, where he camesunflower fields produce around 25,000WHERE full circle as he took part in a paneltons of natural rubber annually fromON THE WEBdiscussion with several other St. Louisthe plant leaves. However, the rubbersFor video interviews, podcast episodes and other startups on the topic of revolutionizingconcentration is too low for cost-effectivecontent from the 2024 meeting of the NAPB, visit plant breeding. extraction. seedworld.com/tag/napb/14 SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADA NOVEMBER 2024'