With a rich global germplasm bank and a strong focus on research and development, Nuseed has rapidly expanded over the past decade. Each hemisphere has a Nuseed Innovation Center to drive progress, helping to identify markers and traits for seed development, top-performing hybrids, and new plant-based solutions.
“Nuseed’s growth has been driven by being extremely focused on four crops with great genetic potential,” says Brent Javra, Nuseed Global Commercial General Manager. “We are unlocking the genetic potential of these crops with both input traits for agronomic benefits and output traits for new plant-based solutions and added value.”
Sunflowers
Nuseed’s sunflower breeding program has tripled in size over the past six years. They are advancing sunflower output traits to meet specific consumer preferences, including larger shell and kernel size.
“We’ve developed a good testing pipeline,” says Jim Gerdes, Nuseed Global Sunflower Research & Development Supervisor. “Initiating the molecular lab from ground zero has been a major milestone. We also brought the analytical chemistry aspect onboard, which helps us analyze oil profiles and other quality traits.”
Canola
From 2010 to present, Nuseed has seen a significant escalation in their canola R&D program, becoming a market leader in Australia.
“At the Nuseed Horsham Innovation Centre in Australia, we are continuing to explore trait introgression and advancement of novel canola improvement technologies,” says Nelson Gororo, Global Canola R&D Lead.
Through their collaboration with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), Nuseed is now commercializing its proprietary Nuseed Omega-3 Canola.
Sorghum
Nuseed’s sorghum research is led by Diego Duretto, at the company’s Argentina R&D facilities, in collaboration with Texas-based, Richardson Seeds, a wholly-owned Nuseed subsidiary. The combined expertise is leading the way in sorghum advancements including yield, maturity, digestibility, agronomic performance as well as drought and saline tolerance.
The R&D teams have already developed Wholis for human consumption and are exploring the white sorghum segment, which allows the crop to be made into non-GMO, gluten-free flour.
Carinata
“Years of research and development have maximized carinata’s agronomic, non-food low-carbon fuel feedstock and high protein meal performance. Nuseed has the global reach and grower connection to commercialize the technology acquired, while we continue to make breeding advancements,” explains Rick Bennett, who leads the carinata breeding program in Saskatoon, Canada.
The future of plant breeding is very exciting, as more technologies are introduced to help advance all areas of agriculture. Nuseed’s global footprint and ability to develop value chains to commercialize R&D innovations is key today, and vital to long-term success.
