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 5244 I EUROPEAN SEED I EUROPEAN-SEED.COM INDUSTRY NEWS facility is worth more than $2 million and can process up to two tons of seeds per hour. According to studies, the adoption of high-quality seeds contributes to 5-10 per cent increase in yield. The facility has two units of six tons per batch recir- culating dryer; two units of four tons capacity per batch reversible airflow flat- bed dryers; two units of 2t/hr air-screen machine; one unit of 2t/hr gravity sep- arator; an automatic bagger and closer; and a 50 cubic meter cold storage room. The project has also distributed 32 tons of certified inbred seeds to more than 400 farmers in Pangasinan and Nueva Ecija. It has been training project implementers, seed analysts, inspectors, seed growers, and farmers since 2013. PEOPLE NEWS The Agri-Food Chain Coalition (AFCC) appointed Roxane Feller, Secretary General of IFAH-Europe (International Federation of Animal Health-Europe) as its new Chair. She will lead this multi-stakeholder group throughout 2017 to enhance understand- ing of the European agri-food chain sec- tor’s important role and contribution to an innovative and sustainable Europe. In 2017, the AFCC will continue to build an agenda, based on its vision paper of 2014, to create a greater recognition of the role of research and innovation in providing a secure and safe food supply in a sus- tainable manner, and to encourage the EU to put innovation at the heart of its agri- food policy. The AFCC launched its new website, https://agrifoodchaincoalition. eu, to enhance its visibility, and provide all information about the AFCC’s goal and scope, and a quick access to relevant news and events. Executive search firm Kincannon & Reed has named Ricardo Casiuch as managing director in Brazil. He will be serving clients in the crop inputs sector. His background includes executive posi- tions in agribusiness and biotechnology for Brazilian, American, Canadian, and Italian multinational companies. Casiuch began his career with Monsanto, Johnson & Johnson, and Dow AgroSciences where he was Latin America commercial direc- tor for plant genetics and traits. He later moved to director positions with Grupo Monteiro Aranha, Valagro do Brail, Campos do Pinhão Farm, and Acadian Seaplants, among others. PRODUCT NEWS Indigo, a company dedicated to harness- ing nature to help growers sustainably feed the planet, announced preliminary data from its first commercial product, Indigo™ Cotton. Launched in the spring of 2016 on approximately 50,000 acres across multiple states, Indigo Cotton is a seed treatment based on naturally occurring, in-plant microbes (endo- phytes). Indigo Cotton has been devel- oped to help increase water use efficiency, with the goal of improving yields when plants are growing under water stress. The data represent grower experiences in diverse environments and were presented at the Beltwide Cotton Conference by Dr. Gregory Sword, a professor of entomol- ogy at The Texas A&M University and Indigo collaborator. Data collected to date show that Indigo Cotton led to an 11 per cent average yield increase in West Texas. The state has experienced mod- erate to severe water stress this growing season1. Despite this, yield improvements were achieved without increased water or chemical use, confirming that Indigo Cotton can help protect crops in areas of water scarcity. Indigo also commer- cialized its product on a variety of seed types in other areas. The most successful combination of seed type and microbial treatment achieved a peak performance above 15 per cent. Quick Plug, known as a producer of stabilised sowing and cutting substrates for the professional horticulture sector, became part of Dümmen Orange on 1 January 2017. In order to guarantee continued resourcefulness and quality in the future, the directors of Quick Plug have decided to transfer the shares to Dümmen Orange. The company therefore gains a strong position on the global market. Quick Plug develops a range of concepts for growers and propagators within the national and international horticulture sector. Quick Plug technology opens up opportunities for automation and robotisation of several product groups and adds quality to rooted products. Over the last 12 years, the company has grown to become an international player with customers around the world, including the Netherlands, Germany, Eastern Europe, the USA, Mexico, Brazil and Taiwan. The integration of Quick Plug technology means that both companies will be better placed to serve their customers. This also brings advantages from the plant health perspective. Further expansion into a business with a global presence is planned. A Montana State University scientist has received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science to research ways to improve the usefulness of camelina, an ancient crop that the modern world has come to value as a potential source of alternative fuel. The project was one of seven totalling $7.8 million that were jointly selected by the DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund bio-based fuel research. Better management of Rhizoctonia solani is the ambition of a three- year programme of work, part-funded by the UK government’s Agri-Tech Catalyst fund. An aggressive soil-borne pathogen of oilseed rape (OSR) and canola worldwide, R. solani can kill seedlings before or soon after they emerge. This is, typically, more problematic in close rotations. Globally, the pathogen can be sub-classified by ‘anastomosis groups’ (AGs) and AG2-1 will be the focus of this new study. AG2–1 is in the spotlight because it is known to be associated with severe damping off and has been shown to significantly impact on several root system architecture traits of OSR. Presently, there are no disease resistant varieties and management of this disease is often dependent on the use of fungicides. The project will look to identify genetic traits associated with resistance to R. solani in OSR, increase knowledge of disease epidemiology and yield loss, and investigate the potential of low-dose seed treatments targeted at soil-borne disease. Due to conclude in 2019, a key output of the work will be to produce the first guidelines for the integrated control of R. solani in OSR.