b'Thas lab team at CN Seeds Left to right: Prutha Patel, Kirsty Windle, Sujit Tha, Mirjam Storcken. PHOTO: CN SEEDS LTD.Sujit Tha (left), head of plant breeding for CN Seeds Ltd., specializes in baby leaf salad and herbs.Zero to Hero WHEN SUJIT THAwalked into his first ses-sion at the UC Davis Plant Breeding Academy (PBA), he wasnt sure what to expect. As the head of plant breeding and research at CN Seeds Ltd. in England, United Kingdom, Tha already had more than a decade of experience under his belt and was leading programs across a variety of From Nepal to the World: How the UC Davis Plantcrops. But he was looking for something more than knowledgehe was looking for direction.Breeding Academy changed everything.He found it. And this year, he was recognized By Aimee Nielson, Seed World U.S. Editor for his growth and impact as the 2024-2025 UC Davis Plant Breeding Academy Outstanding Student.From day one at UC Davis Plant Breeding Academy, I connected straight toah, I can use this thing, what hes saying, into that particular project. Orno, I was doing that thing wrong, so I need to modify it, Tha says. This course has been really transformational from many different angles. Very practical from day one.That practicality changed how he saw plant breeding. And more importantly, how he did it.Thas journey didnt start in a university or lab. It started on a farm in Nepal.I was always connected to agriculture, but I never thought I would be plant breeder, he says. Originally I wanted to be medical doctor, but I couldnt do it, for whatever reason.42/ SEEDWORLD.COMSEPTEMBER 2025'