78 / SEEDWORLD.COM JUNE 2017 SINCE1915 ThefirstissueofSeedWorldwaspublishedin1915.Heretheeditorswilltakeyoubackintimeto explorethenumbers,newsandissuesthatimpactedtheseedindustry—allcoveredbySeedWorld. 1915 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1944 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1968 1970 1974 1975 1980 1982 1985 1990 1995 2000 2001 2005 2010 2015 First use of aerial photos in Earth sciences and agriculture. Green Revolution begins in Mexico. First genetically engineered crop plant developed (tomato). China creates the first hybrid rice. A MOMENT IN TIME This particular edition featured commentary on the issue of breeders’ rights in the United States and abroad. “For a number of years, members of the seed industry have been trying to come up with a program which would give plant breeders the protection they need for the time, work and money they invest in developing and perfecting new plant varieties and which would, at the same time, meet with the approval of government agencies in charge of seed law enforcement. The breeders’ rights programs in operation or being considered in some of the countries in Europe would, as felt by seedsmen in the United States, lead to a slowing down in breeding work and the introduction of new and better varieties; it would have a tendency to turn the direction of breeding efforts toward varieties that have distinguishing characteristics rather than to improving existing varieties.” FACTS AND FIGURES FROM THIS 1968 ISSUE: 10,000 years is the age of Arctic lupine seed botanists were able to grow healthy plants from in an experiment carried out at the National Museum of Canada. 13.4 million pounds of seed is imported into the United States in January 1968, down from 13.9 million the year prior. 1/3 is the amount U.S. crop production is expected to increase from 1965 to 1980. 4 billion is the forecasted world popula- tion for the year 1975. 11 is the number of “man hours” needed to produce 100 bushels of sorghum grain, down from 49 hours in 1959. DNA-based method refined to quickly detect the soybean rust pathogen, Phakopsora pachyrhizi, a threat to 2.9 billion acres of U.S. soybeans.