b'Its a World of Viruses TROY JACKSONREGIONAL TERRITORY MANAGER, OLIVER MANUFACTURINGtroy.jackson@olivermanufacturing.comTHE WORLD ISdealing with a pan- aggressively testing seeds for seed- olivermanufacturing.comdemic of the coronavirus COVID-19.borne viruses to protect the growers The impact of COVID-19 on humancrop and prevent the spread of lives and the business economy isdiseases. Unlike clinical testing, only staggering. Scientists around thea small representative portion of a world are working tirelessly to under- seed lot is usually tested to determineNo One Has It Allstand this RNA virus and its spread.seed quality in terms of pathogenic In the absence of a cure or vaccine,infection. the best way to keep COVID-19 underIn addition to advanced RNAFOR FAR TOO LONG,companies thought check is to contain the spread of thebased technology, the antibody- they had to produce it all, or as much as they virus. The RNA based detection tech- based enzyme-linked immunosorb- could inhouse. But it didnt take long for those nology RT-PCR (reverse transcriptionent assay (ELISA) is also widely usedinnovative small- and medium-sized companies polymerase chain reaction) is beingin the agricultural industry to detectto recognize that model just doesnt work, and widely used to precisely identifyplant viruses. Though this technol- you cant constantly be reinventing the wheel. the source of COVID-19 and subse- ogy is still useful, it is rapidly beingSome might be surprised at our partnership quently aid in restricting its spread.replaced by DNA/RNA technologieswith Westrup, a company that also focuses on The agriculture industry has alsothat are more sensitive and specific.seed conditioning and cleaning equipment. encountered similar kinds of new andThe downside is that the newer DNA/ Yes, we both manufacture seed conditioning emerging viral diseases. The methodsRNA technologies are more expen- and cleaning equipment and taking on this to detect them are not all that dis- sive than ELISA and require moreline allows us to bring a more comprehensive similar from the ones used to detectexpensive equipment. portfolio to customers.human viruses. Though plant virusesSo, while humans get tested forWhen we recognized that, we saw a do not have such a direct impact onCOVID-19, H1N1 and other infectiouspotential partnership and not competition. At humans as COVID-19, they can beviruses, plants and seeds are beinga meeting between Westrups CEO, and our very devastating to a growers crop.tested for ToBRFV, Cucumber Greenown Brian Burney, the two leaders saw more Sometimes the entire crop is lost. LikeMottle Mosaic virus and other plantsynergies that could benefit each company COVID-19, if unchecked, plant virusesviruses using the same RNA basedthan working alone.can also become pandemic anddetection technologies. It is a worldAfter another meeting or two to iron out cause severe damage to the agricul- of viruses. the details, Oliver became the exclusive South tural industry around the world. VeryAmerican Distributor of the Westrup line of recently, the seed industry encoun- equipment. Now, were bringing two world-tered a new, emerging viral diseaseclass equipment lines together to meet cus-called Tomato Brown Rugose Fruittomers needs when it comes to seed cleaning Virus (ToBRFV), which still threatensand conditioning.tomato production and trade acrossWe are able to marry the Westrup equip-many countries.ment with our service and support model. Plant pathologists successfullyWhen we sell a Westrup piece of equipment, use the same RNA based detectionwe are your administrative assistant and see technology to detect plant viruses asyour inquiries through to the end. We work clinical pathologists use to identifyclosely with direct contacts and have a process human viruses. With this technol- to ensure all parts are ordered and installed.ogy, the seed industry is veryIn fact, we at Oliver and the leaders at Westrup have been so happy with the partner-ship it has the opportunity to open new doors.This just goes to show when you keep your JOHN MIZICKO eyes on the horizon and are open to oppor-BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER,tunities in unexpected places. It can enhance EUROFINS BIODIAGNOSTICS COMPANYyour business portfolio, allow you to meet the JohnMizicko@eurofinsus.com needs of the broader market and accelerate eurofinsus.com/biodiagnosticsyour business trajectory.JUNE 2020SEEDWORLD.COM /25'