Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52EUROPEAN-SEED.COM I EUROPEAN SEED I 43 INDUSTRY NEWS TAILORED TO SEED PROFESSIONALS, INDUSTRY NEWS DELIVERS THE PEOPLE, RESEARCH, BUSINESS AND PRODUCT NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW. SUBMISSIONS ARE WELCOME. EMAIL US AT NEWS@ISSUESINK.COM. INDUSTRY NEWS The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) is pleased to announce the launch of the Electronic Application Form (EAF). The EAF is an online plant breeders’ rights (PBR) application tool that can be used to provide application data to all participating PVP Offices in the required format (hard copy, e-mail, system to system communication). Application forms can be displayed in a range of languages. UPOV is an intergov- ernmental organization based in Geneva, with 74 members, covering 93 States. The purpose of UPOV is to provide and pro- mote an effective system of plant variety protection, with the aim of encourag- ing the development of new varieties of plants, for the benefit of society. Enzymes maker Novozymes will cut 198 jobs and invest more in emerging mar- kets, adding it could time take to recap- ture past growth rates amid uncertainty over U.S. renewable energy policy and the takeover of a key partner. The Danish company’s business flourished after being spun off from drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) in 2000, but a lower oil price in recent years has hit demand for its enzymes used in detergents, animal feed and in the production of biofuel. Monsanto Australia has invested in a new app that puts the latest grain pricing information at the fingertips of farmers, empowering them to source the most competitive price for their grain, includ- ing GM canola, on-demand. Using data provided by LachStock Consulting, the Grain Gauge app provides daily updates on the best local prices on offer, with additional analysis of the best monthly and yearly site prices. The app, available on both iOS and Android was developed by Monsanto in response to feedback from growers that it was difficult to have complete visibility over what grain trad- ers were offering the best price at any point in time. This was an issue particu- larly for GM canola growers who were frustrated by premiums paid for non-GM canola with no easy or quick means to compare prices. Grain Gauge is the first free app of its kind and provides pricing not just Monsanto traits, but for a wide range of crops, making grain marketing easy for farmers. New research being published in the jour- nal Science has uncovered a previously unknown means by which plants are able to regulate how their immune sys- tems respond to pathogens. A group of small peptides, referred to as RALFs (Rapid Alkalinization Factors), serve to dampen immune signaling – preventing further response once the infection has been dealt with by the plant’s immune system. The finding could pave the way to improve the immune systems of food crops, which would have a tremendous impact on food security. The study, co-authored by Queen’s plant biologist Jacqueline Monaghan, examined how plant immune systems work to respond to threats, as well as how plants regu- late their pathogen responses in order to avoid negative impacts to their growth and development. Dr. Monaghan says that this research plays a role in further- ing the collective understanding of how plants respond to environmental threats and pathogens. She says that future developments could lead to improving the immune systems of food crops, which would have a tremendous impact on food security. BUSINESS NEWS To provide high-quality seeds to farm- ers and seed growers, the first state-of- the-art rice seed processing facility that houses advanced equipment was inaugu- rated at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), Science City of Muñoz on December 6. Funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) under the project Enhancing the capacity of production and distribu- tion of high-quality rice seeds, the said