While the past year has seemed never-ending, we’re closing the door on 2022. With that, Seed World takes a look at your favorite stories from the last year based on our analytics.
Three Reasons CRISPR Won’t Work
Our top article of the year was by Hudson River Biotechnology’s Lotte Westerhof, where she debunks the excitement of CRISPR. Though everyone should be excited about CRISPR and the new discoveries and innovations it brings, there’s some challenges facing CRISPR that need to be tackled, otherwise, CRISPR won’t work in the real world. Srides need to be made to harness its full potential — and is the seed sector ready to hurdle the jumps?
Could a Spanish Study End Public GMO Arguments?
Scientists from Spain released a public analysis to see if there was a better way to convince the public that GM products are not only safe for human and animal consumption, but can bring economic, environmental and health benefits. Though skepticism is still ongoing, the study believes the public is slowly moving towards trusting the science behind GMOs.
Seed World Announces 2022’s Top 10 Next Generation Leaders
Each summer, Seed World puts out a call for nominations for the Top 10 Next Gen Leaders. These leaders are making splashes in the industry and shaping the future direction of technology, regulations and more. Leaders were nominated by their peers, co-workers and mentors. This year, our Future Leader of the Seed Industry was Magan Lewis, who was also featured on our September 2022 cover.
Starting a Seed Company from Scratch
In developing countries, seed choices for farmers are limited — why? Typically, larger seed companies don’t see the economics of selling their varieties there, says Anthony Leddin of Valley Seeds. Rather than seeing developing countries as a hard sell, Lleddin says it’s the perfect opportunity for people passionate about seed to help the sector sow growth in new areas. He has a few key steps on starting a seed business in these areas.
India Issues Ruling Favorable to Gene Editing
On March 31, India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change revised it’s ruling concering the applications of gene editing in agriculture. Now, the ruling states that gene editing will be excluded from their GMO classification — and it’s not the only country looking to revise its regulations on gene-editing.
Hybridizing Dahlias to Withstand Time
For Kristine Albrecht, the future of dahlia breeding looks a little different. The breeder looks to break open dahlia breeding and bring newer colors and shapes to both dahlia shows and to the florist market. But, there’s one thing she knows for certain: the secret to hybrid dahlias shouldn’t be secret. She spends time educating on social media to show how plant breeding can be a fun endeavor.
Magan Lewis Creates Sparks in Those Around Her
Magan Lewis was announced as the Future Leader of the Seed Industry and one of Seed World’s Top 10 Next Gen Leaders. Why? She’s encouraging her team to find a spark and passion every day to help them get excited to tackle the day’s challenges. “Employees who have activated the best version of themselves become drivers of their own work and take ownership for their output,” she says.
True Potato Seeds Could Feed the World
On a special episode of Seed Speaks, two experts joined the panel to talk about a new seed innovation: true potato seeds. Though true potato seeds are still working to get off the ground in terms of technology and commercialization, Helen Tai and Charles Miller believe true potato seeds could have big implications to feed the globe and revolutionize potato farming.
The Seed Business in Ukraine Goes on Despite Invasion
Vladimir Zinchenko never thought he’d go from selling seed to defending the Vyshhorod region of Ukraine near Kyiv this spring. But, when Russia invaded Ukraine, that’s just what he had to do since the invasion began. Though the director of seed sales for CanGro Genetics has a different outlook day-to-day, he’s still finding reasons to smile. “Our smiles are our secret weapon,” he says.
Need a Bit of Luck? Turn to a Clover Lawn
Maintaining lawns can be difficult. In an effort to be more ecological, the interest in clover lawns is gaining popularity — in addition to being visually interesting with a different texture from grass, clover is easy to grow, drought-tolerant and thrives in both sun and shade. The change of finding a four-leaf clover is an added bonus!
