84 / SEEDWORLD.COM SEPTEMBER 2017 XiteBio appoints Bill Busby as its new sales manager. Busby is responsible for promoting sales and marketing efforts of XiteBio in the United States, eastern Canada and Manitoba. Gro Alliance welcomes Brandon Rose as account manager at its Howe, Ind., facility. Rose joins Gro Alliance after past seed production experience with DuPont Pioneer and most recently in sales and marketing with Agrium. BUSINESS The National Science Foundation awarded ABM a Small Business Innovation Research grant to research and develop formulations of a new class of biorational chemicals to be based on chemical communicants from plant sym- biotic fungi. This project builds on the discovery that selected biorational fungal metabolites increase plant productivity and stress resistance and affect plants long after the application. Syngenta and Hazera agreed that Hazera will take over the Syngenta leek seeds portfolio. The deal went into effect July 1. Syngenta sold leek seeds in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Poland and Spain. Syngenta reaffirmed its goal to strengthen its position in crop protection by becoming the No. 3 in seeds. As such, the company will bring together the leadership of the research and development and production and supply functions within the Crop Protection business, led by Jon Parr, and the Seeds business, led by Jeff Rowe. As a result, Trish Malarkey, head of research and development, and Mark Peacock, head of global operations, will leave Syngenta at the end of September. Both are members of Syngenta’s Executive Committee. Agronomix Software Inc. and Cultura Seed Solutions agreed to establish a strategic alliance in marketing and integration between their two software solutions. In its research and development pipeline, Evogene Ltd. advances gene EVO30495, found to display insecticidal activ- ity against Western corn rootworm, into Phase-I. Researchers will validate its efficacy on target crops, following positive labo- ratory assay results. Phase-I includes introduction of the gene into corn, followed by greenhouse experiments. Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. and Agrium Inc. announced that once the anticipated merger closes, the new company will be named Nutrien. According to a news release, the organization will be the global leader in reliable, low-cost crop nutrient production, combined with the largest agricultural retail-distribution network in the world. Clariant invests in a state-of-the-art research and development greenhouse to step up support for tackling current and future agricultural challenges. The aim is to reduce development time and speed-to-market for advances in the niche growth areas of plant growth regulators, foliar fertilizers and bio-herbicides. DLF Seeds A/S and Zaad Holdings Limited agreed to entered into a joint venture known as DLF Seeds (Pty) Ltd. July 1. Zaad is a supplier of agricultural inputs and owns, develops, imports and distributes a broad range of seeds in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and other international markets. EAG Laboratories receives a license from Dow for its Plextein Technology. The non-exclusive license enables EAG to use patented intellectual property that includes Plextein, a high throughput method for detecting and quantitating multiple proteins in plants. PRODUCT Entering the market, Rijk Zwaan has launched its first three commercial squash varieties: Calawinter RZ, Calabonita RZ and Calagreen RZ. All three are within the cylindrical dark applewoodseed.com Seeds of Wildflowers & Garden Flowers Regional, Special Use & Custom Mixtures Hundreds of Species in Stock For a quote or catalog, call 303.431.7333 or email sales@applewoodseed.com