70 / SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2018 “In the past it was about phenotyping and walk- ing into the field and looking with your eye,” Carter explains. “Now we have sensors, drones, we can look at photosynthesis and canopy temperature that you can’t see with your eye, and a lot more. There’s a lot of things we have at our fingertips now to figure out what will be useful and beneficial for breeding in the future.” Scout’s Honor If it wasn’t for the Boy Scouts, Andrew Herr may never have become a plant breeder. It was his experi- ence in Scouts that gave him an appreciation for the natural world. “Scouting gave me a lot of respect for nature and the world we live in and how wild it is and that we have to respect the earth,” Herr says. “As kids we often are taught to follow, but in Scouting we are given a chance to show our potential [as leaders].” Now an undergraduate at Iowa State University majoring in agronomy, Herr conducts undergraduate research using image analysis to extract corn root phe- notypes for use in genomic prediction. “They are the foundation of the plant, and if we can understand what traits make a healthy root system, we can hopefully boost yields and have a more reliable crop for the consumer and farmer,” he says. Robert Duncan is a brassica breeder at the University of Manitoba and winner of NAPB’s Early Career Scientist Award. Like Herr, he didn’t have experi- ence in plant breeding when he began his studies. During his master’s program, Duncan realized one of the best methods to manage plant disease was through plant breeding and host resistance. This led him to the University of California, Davis, for his doctorate, where he focused on breeding for disease resistance in dark red kidney beans. Without much experience in plant breeding, Duncan wishes he had known one thing in his early career: “Such a small percentage of your crosses produce new cultivars or actually become commercial products — either the parents didn’t get combined well or the hybrid didn’t have the trait you wanted. There is a lot of failure for each new cultivar registered.” Try a Bit of Everything Adam Bolton isn’t one to limit himself. The 27-year-old fourth-year doctoral candidate in the Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics program at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, has been all over the map in terms of plant breeding. He is now focusing on what’s become his favorite plant, the carrot. For his PhD studies, he looks at the physiology and genetics of salt and heat tolerance in diverse carrot germplasm with the goal of developing new breeding material. Climate change has necessitated the devel- opment of salt- and heat-tolerant varieties of carrots, especially for developing countries where a lack of Vitamin A in the diet is an issue. Ksenija Gasic, a peach breeder at Clemson University in South Carolina and incoming chair of the Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee, has made a career out of applying the right tools to fulfill the tastes of consum- ers. She began as a fruit breeder in Serbia and came to North America to use new molecular tools in her work. For Gasic, breeding the perfect peach is a pleasure that never gets old. “The fun thing is seeing something you created that brings pleasure to others,” she says. “I was evaluating crosses I made in 2015 and, after walking through the field tasting plenty of bad, acidic peaches, finally found one that had the perfect flavor. Everyone in the lab loved it. That’s the highlight for me, finding that unique combination of traits that impact consumers’ lives.” Seize Opportunities In 2017, when the American Seed Trade Association put out the call for entries in its Better Seed, Better Life video contest, Katelyn Fritz was intrigued. An under- graduate from Iowa State University double majoring in agronomy and global resource systems with focus areas in plant breeding and biotechnology as well as Central America, she felt she had something to offer. Having spent nine months in Guatemala helping researchers start up a plant breeding program, she felt she could not only put together a great video, but help the world see the important biofortification work being done in the country. “In high school I got involved with the World Food Prize and from there, I was lucky enough to be selected as a Borlaug intern at the International Rice Research Facility in the Philippines. I did two months there working, going through different laboratories and that’s where my passion was and where I saw my future going — working in biofortification,” she says. Fritz met the founder and CEO of an NGO in Guatemala and he welcomed her to come intern with them. Andrew Herr, Borlaug Scholar. Adam Bolton, Borlaug Scholar. Adam Bolton studies the physiology and genetics of salt and heat tolerance in diverse carrots in his PhD studies. Robert Duncan. Kensija Gasic.