b'the unlabeled apple was presented after participants saw an applecal technology company Stryker, where he was also a member of with a GM label, the demand for the unlabeled apple jumped to 77.7the executive team as chief digital technology officer.per cent. If a consumer was presented first with an apple labeled non-genetically modified, the shoppers preference for it was 67.2 per centstatistically even with their initial preference for anNufarm has appointed Hildo Brilleman as regional general unlabeled apple.manager Europe, Middle East and Africa. Brilleman joined Nufarm in 2019 as chief commercial officer, taking over the commercial responsibility for the EuMEA business. In his new BUSINESS NEWS role he succeeds Hugo Schweers, who will continue with Nufarm SynTech Research and Acceres are in advanced discussions toto focus on organic growth opportunities within the region. merge their businesses to form a global Agricultural R&D ContractBrilleman brings with him more than 25 years of experience in Research Organisation. The combined organization will be abledifferent leadership and marketing roles in the food and agricul-to offer a complete package of services (Field, Laboratory andtural industry. Most recently he worked for Arysta Lifescience Regulatory). and was responsible for the European business as regional head of Europe following the integration with UPL.BASF broke ground on a new regional production hub for its Agricultural Solutions business in Asia Pacific. ScheduledPRODUCT NEWSfor completion in the third quarter of 2021, the multipurposeSyngenta Flowers and HI Breeding BV announced a new facility has been designed to handle six different formulationagreement where Syngenta Flowers will exclusively market and technologies and will supply the companys patented crop pro- sell HI Breeding hydrangea varieties in the United States and tection products to farmers across the Asia Pacific region. WhenCanada. Syngenta Flowers will produce HI Breeding hydrangea fully operational, the plant will have a production capacity of 7unrooted cuttings at their farm in Alva, Florida, where they can million litres per yearenough to cover 20 million hectaresleverage years of domestic unrooted cutting production knowl-of farmlandand employ a staff of more than 25 employees. edge and an ideal climate for unrooted cutting production, the company said. Biosecurity New Zealand has suspended fresh melon imports from Queensland after routine testing detected cucumber greenAt Februarys Fruit Logistica, Rijk Zwaan unveiled its Cabbisi mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) on a consignment of water- product first announced last year. Cabbisi, the mini salad cab-melons from Australia. Biosecurity NZs Peter Thomson saidbage, is a healthy innovation in the salad category and has the CGMMV, if introduced to NZ, could have a serious impact onpotential to become a consumer favourite, the company said. It local production of cucurbit crops.has a mild and crisp taste, a unique nutrient profile and is the same size as a head of cos lettuce. Genective, a joint venture between Limagrain and KWS, ded-icated to the development of transgenic traits, and AgBiome, aThe development of next-generation-sequencing (NGS) has developer of new technology from microbes, announced a stra- enabled researchers to investigate genomes that might pre-tegic partnership to accelerate commercialization of coleop- viously have been considered too complex or too expensive. teran- and lepidopteran-resistant transgenic traits with uniqueNevertheless, the analysis of complex plant genomes, which modes of action. The partnership is intended to establish a newoften have an enormous amount of repetitive sequences, is still leader in insect traits, a market with over $5 billion in annuala challenge. Therefore, bioinformatics researchers from Leibniz opportunities.Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry have now published Kmasker Plants, a program PEOPLE NEWS that allows the identification of repetitive sequences and The Netherlands-based Solynta announced the appointmentthus facilitates the analysis of plant genomes. The Kmasker of Edwin van der Vossen as its new director of research andPlants web service is now available as part of the IPK Crop development. He will be succeeding the current director, PimAnalysis Tool Suite (CATS) and therefore as a service of the Lindhout, who is retiring. Van der Vossen brings over 20 yearsde.NBI Service Platform. Alternatively, the source code can of R&D experience in plant sciences. Over the last 11 years hedirectly be accessed and installed via GitHub.was part of the management team of the crop innovation com-pany KeyGene, heading the Crop Innovation Unit within the company. Prior to joining Keygene he served in a number ofBASF has launched Attraxor, a new plant growth regulator roles at Wageningen University & Research. He holds a PhD in(PGR). The product is new to the UK market and features the molecular plant sciences from Leiden University and a MSc inactive Prohexadione calcium. Attraxor reduces the longitudinal plant breeding from Wageningen University.shoot growth of grass which lessens the frequency of mowing and the volume of clippings created, the company said.Bijoy Sagar will be Bayers new chief information technology & digital transformation officereffective June 1, 2020. The move sees Daniel Hartert leave Bayer after 12 years of service, retiring from his corporate career. Sagar is joining Bayer from U.S. medi-EUROPEAN-SEED.COMIEUROPEAN SEED I 45'