b'farmers have been breeding plants for the bestUPOV Convention 1 on November 1, 2019, and will characteristics, like disease resistance and droughtbecome the 76th member of the International Union for tolerance. Today, scientists can use gene editing tothe Protection of New Varieties of Plants on December make more precise, targeted changes to improve1, 2019.plants and provide solutions to a variety of challenges.Pairwise announced the early completion of its Researchers from KU Leuven have found that thedevelopment milestones in its collaboration with presence of yeasts can alter the chemical compositionBayer. Opened in 2018, Pairwise believes healthy food and thus the nutritional value of nectar for pollinatorsshould be affordable, convenient and sustainable.such as bees. Moreover, the study found that yeasts can even boost bee health and colony fitness. Plant Response Biotech and Koch Biological Solutions have combined operations to form Plant Response Cannabis cultivation could have a significant effectBiotech, Inc. The new venture will leverage both on groundwater and surface water resources whencompanies complementary capabilities, assets and combined with residential use, evidence from a newproduct offerings.study suggests. Researchers in Canada and the U.S. investigated potential reductions in streamflow,Syngenta announced that it will discontinue its caused by groundwater pumping for cannabisCanadian cereal seed research and development irrigation, in the Navarro River in Mendocino County,program, effective the end of this calendar year. California, and contextualized it by comparing it with residential groundwater use. Colorado CBD Seed announced that it has signed an agreement to donate their proprietary Abacus Early Providing seeds with a protective coating that alsoBird feminized hemp seed, a hemp cultivar known supplies essential nutrients to the germinating plantfor its early maturity and vigorous growth, to the UF, could make it possible to grow crops in otherwiseUniversity of Florida for agricultural hemp research. unproductive soils, according to new research at MIT. A team of engineers has coated seeds with silk thatCLAAS announced a global partnership with has been treated with a kind of bacteria that naturallyThe Climate Corporation and its FieldView digital produce a nitrogen fertilizer, to help the germinatingfarming platform, providing farmers with seamless plants develop. Tests have shown that these seeds canconnectivity and unlimited storage of machine-grow successfully in soils that are too salty to allowgenerated agronomic data directly to their FieldView untreated seeds to develop normally. account. BUSINESS NEWS KeyGene completed the assembly of the red raspberry On Nov. 25, the American Seed Trade Associationgenome this summer and delivered the final results to submitted comments, highlighting the necessary rolethe BerryWorld Plus Ltd. berry breeding programme, of agriculture innovation in combating and mitigatingoffering its breeders a unique and practical genome the impacts of climate change, to the House Selectresource. This high-quality reference genome was Committee on the Climate Crisis.delivered after Berry World Plus won KeyGenes Genome Insight event in March.Texas A&M AgriLife Research has announced a name change for Texas Foundation Seed Service to TexasBASF and NRGene announced a research A&M AgriLife Foundation Seed, effective immediately. collaboration that includes the adoption of NRGenes cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) technology into The International Seed Federation called on nationalBASF soybean research projects. The GenoMAGIC governments to adopt consistent, science-basedtechnology will allow for more comprehensive policies on plant breeding innovation to help achieveevaluations to accelerate trait discovery and breeding adequate global food supply, better farmer income,across diverse crops, according to the companies.improved nutrition of a growing population, and sustainable use of natural resources. The Office of Indiana State Chemist, the pesticide regulatory agency for Indiana, recently announced an Egypt deposited its instrument of accession to theadditional label restriction for users of the herbicide JANUARY 2020SEEDWORLD.COM /83'