b"Welcome to Cambridge!IT'S INDEED A MOMENTOUSoccasion to celebrate 100 years of ISTA's contributions to global seed and food security.Of course, leading the International Seed Testing Associations (ISTA) into its second century is a great honour and a responsibility with humility. I stand on the shoulders of those who came before-founders, visionaries, researchers, analysts and countless contributors. It is critical to express gratitude for the journey thus far and the privilege of leading into the next century! ISTA has made tremendous progress in the field of seed science, sampling and testing in the past 100 years. It has become a key organisation for verifying the quality of seeds worldwide and has long been at the forefront of global seed and food security.A Look BackThe history of seed testing inextricably links to ISTA's history. When we look back at the history of seed testing, we find that by the 19th century, the sale and trade of seeds had become an established practice across Europe. However, a major issue during this period was the lack of knowledge about the quality and purity of the traded seeds. There were no standard methods for assessing whether the seeds were free from contaminants or whether they had the potential to produce a viable crop.Furthermore, widespread unethical practices in the seed trade during the 19th century identified the need for an organization that could develop testing methodologies to ensure quality and uniform test results, paving the way for the establishment of the International Seed Testing Association in 1924 at the 4th seed testing conference in Cambridge, U.K. Since then, ISTA has been working with a vision to ensure uniformity in seed quality evaluation worldwide through its mission to develop, adopt, and publish standard procedures for seed sampling and testing, to promote the uniform application of these procedures, and to advance research in all areas of seed science and technology.Over the past century, ISTA's role and priorities have evolved significantly to adapt to the changing needs and challenges of the global seed industry, as well as developments in the agriculture sector worldwide.In its early days, ISTA's primary focus was on establishing basic seed testing methods to ensure seed quality and facilitate international trade. At that time, the main challenges were overcoming the lack of uniformity in testing methods and ensuring that seeds met the necessary quality standards 6/ SEEDWORLD.COM ISTA 100TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION"