OCTOBER 2026  SEEDWORLD.COM /  1
CONTENTS / OCTOBER 2026
Features
From Seed to 
Stadium: How 
Natural Grass 
Took Center 
Stage at the 
World Cup
The science, seed 
and collaboration 
behind the natural 
grass pitches built 
for 16 stadiums 
across three 
countries.
06
The Fertilizer 
Squeeze Could 
Change the Seed 
Industry for Years
Geopolitical conflicts 
continue to disrupt 
global fertilizer 
markets. Shawn 
Hackett explores how 
prolonged volatility 
could reshape seed 
demand, production 
planning and breeding 
priorities over the next 
several years.
Sorghum 
Researchers Build a 
New Roadmap for 
Nutritional Traits
Researchers are 
mapping the 
compounds inside 
sorghum to help 
breeders better align 
genetics with nutrition, 
grain quality and 
market demand. 
16
28
22
Butter-Optional Popcorn
A University of Illinois hybrid combines savory flavor, combine-ready performance and a new way to teach genetics.
AI Is Changing How 
Breeders Make 
Decisions
From mining 
germplasm and 
predicting crosses 
to finding genes for 
editing, AI is moving 
deeper into the 
breeding process. 
Researchers say the 
biggest gains may 
come from combining 
better models with 
better data.
36

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.