A patented 3D phenotyping solution specifically designed for the seed industry has been chosen the 2023 winner of Seed Innovation Days, hosted Nov. 16 and 17, 2023 by RWA Raiffeisen Ware Austria in Korneuburg, Austria. The real winner of the event, however, is the entire global seed industry.
RWA Raiffeisen Ware Austria and the Agro Innovation Lab’s Seed Innovation Challenge is a global search for the most innovative new seed industry solutions. The nomination process, which went live in July, drew applications from 65 innovators from 24 countries. Nominees’ innovations spanned seed industry priorities from breeding and portfolio management to field production/seed multiplication and from factory production/seed processing to distribution, logistics, quality management and more.
Of the many nominations, the field was cut to 12 finalists, each of whom was invited to present their solutions to the jury at the two-day Seed Innovation Days. Finalists included innovators from South Korea, the U.S., the Netherlands, Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, India, Serbia, England and France. The finalists presented innovations that measured pollen cells, assessed in-field performance, employed AI solutions for the planning and processing of seeds, applied high-technology to sowing and measurement, and powered solutions through nanoparticles, 3D measurements and plasma technology.
“Sixty-five applications and 12 finalists, all presenting pitches on innovations that could indeed change the seed industry,” says Shawn Brook, Seed World Group president and moderator of a panel discussion at Seed Innovation Days. “They named a winner, and that wasn’t even the most exciting part. The most exciting part was the connections, the networking. The conversations that happened were powerful.”
Winners Antje and Johannes Wolff, founders of phenoLytics GmbH, were awarded 10,000 EUR POC as well as exclusive collaboration discussions. Their winning systems – phenoTest and phenoScort – offer fully automated 3D phenotyping with high throughput and precise measurement of internal and external organs of seeds and seedlings throughout the germination process. According to a news release from RWA Raiffeisen Ware Austria, the judges praised the “mature, market-ready technology, which represents a game-changer in seed analysis”.
“For us, this victory is a great affirmation of our ideas. phenoLytic stands for disruptive technology, the use of which requires a fundamental rethinking in seed analysis,” Antje and Johannes Wolff said in the news release. “We are pleased that its potential has been recognized.”
“The challenges posed by climate change are enormous,” said Florian Mayer, head of seeds at RWA, in the release. “The seed industry must remain innovative. With the Seed Innovation Challenge, we are taking an important step by creating an international platform for sustainable solutions in seed production. The goal is to secure high quality and yield in the long term and to broaden the reach of these ideas.”
In his keynote address at the event, Garlich von Essen, secretary general at Euroseeds, said, “The Seed Innovation Challenge shows how easily innovative methods can be integrated into existing agricultural systems and quickly bring benefits.”
The 12 finalists included:
- WINNER Germany: phenoLytics GmbH, presenting phenoTest and phenoScort
- Switzerland: Amphasys AG, presenting Ampha P20 and Ampha Z40
- U.S: Arable, presenting Mark3
- U.S.: ClimateAi, presenting ClimateLens
- India: Cropin Technology Solutions Pvt. Ltd., presenting Cropin Cloud
- Serbia: Cropt, presenting AI models for optimal distribution / recommendation of seed varieties
- South Korea: Green and Seed Corporation, presenting Seed Film Cultivation (SFC)
- France: HIPHEN, presenting PhenoMobile
- Netherlands: Hudson River Biotechnology, presenting Plentrance
- Hungary: Proofminder, presenting Proofminder AI Platform
- Netherlands: VitalFluid, presenting Plasma Activated Water
- United Kingdom: Zayndu Ltd, presenting Cold Plasma Seed Treatment
“The people I talked to [at the Seed Innovation Days] are excited, they are passionate, they are committed to growing the industry and expanding the opportunities that exist for the global seed industry,” says Brook. “I’m walking away inspired myself on how we can further be innovative and how we can have innovative thinking integrated into our entire lives.”
For more information about the Seed Innovation Challenge and Seed Innovation Days, visit www.agroinnovationlab.com
