86 / SEEDWORLD.COM JUNE 2019 SINCE1915 ThefirstissueofSeedWorldwaspublishedin1915.Heretheeditorswilltakeyoubackintimeto explorethenumbers,newsandissuesthatimpactedtheseedindustry—allcoveredbySeedWorld. 1915 1916 1920 1925 1930 1935 1938 1940 1945 1947 1950 1955 1960 1961 1965 1968 1970 1975 1980 1983 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 Polymerase chain reaction devised; replicates large quantities of DNA from a small initial sample Stainless steel invented A MOMENT IN TIME This April 1968 issue focused on an issue that’s still a big topic of conversation even today — are there too many associations in the seed industry? “If you have looked at your Calendar of Meetings recently, you have no doubt noted that May, June and July are big convention months for the seed industry,” wrote Seed World’s editor. “Are so many conventions needed? My belief is we need all our meetings and conventions. The seed industry is small. We need all the members we can secure in our associations. If our industry’s calendar makes it appear as if we have a lot of meetings, may we suggest that you look at this calendar and focus on just one or two meetings — the ones that make you feel that you are a part of this industry and the ones you won’t want to miss. That’s the way we feel it should be.” FACTS AND FIGURES FROM THIS 1968 ISSUE: 96% of cotton in harvested mechanically. 70% is the estimated increase in fertilizer sales over the next 15 years according to Verne Palmberg, general sales manager for Northrup King & Co. 5 is the number of inbred lines of sor- ghum delivered to growers by the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station that year. 7.1 million is the number of pounds of grass and legume seed exported from the United States in January 1968. 25% is the estimated yield increase expected for growers who use Vitavex, the first systemic fungicide developed to provide immunity against loose smut. Three to four people-hours of labor required on one acre to produce 20 bushels of wheat Bacillus thuringiensis first sold as insecticide Marfed soft white spring wheat released, the major spring wheat grown in Washington until semidwarf wheats were introduced First commercial semidwarf cultivar of a cereal grain in North America released