"Alas," said the mouse, "the world gets smaller every day. At first it was so wide that I ran along and was happy to see walls appearing to my right and left, but these high walls converged so quickly that I’m already in the last room, and there in the corner is the trap into which I must run." "But you’ve only got to run the other way," said the cat, and ate it.

A Little Fable Franz Kafka (1883-1924)

Seed Technology and Quality in a Changing World

• Increasing population: higher food demands less space for agriculture pressure on biodiversity reduction of chemical input

• Increasing demands for irrigation: salination of soils • Increasing economic globalization: more movement agricultural

products (seeds) • Global warming: more and longer weather

extremes (hot, cold, dry, wet, wind)

• Rapidly increasing technologies: computing power networks/communications sensors molecular biology

Changing world Seed Quality and Testing

• More abiotic stresses: seed vigor more and more important

• More (and different) biotic stresses: seed health testing

• New crops, varieties, cultivars needed: new tests needed (?)

• Biodiversity protection / restauration: wild species seeds, alternative methods

• More seed trade: more testing necessary, increase efficiency, accuracy, decrease costs

• ……………

What do we learn from the symposium that will help to be ready in a changing world?

Technical advancements: -> single seed, data management/analysis

Aiming at better understanding, more efficient and reliable testing, cost reduction.

Information systems

Automation; image analysis

Molecular biology

Information (data) management

• Great opportunities in data base construction, accessibility and connection and combination of relevant data.

• (Fiona Hay et al.) The Global Information System for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

• (Nicolas Denancé et al.) Accessible and updated list of seed-borne diseases. • (Malavika Dadlani et al. and Ralf Schulze Brüning et al. poster P2.16) Re-evaluation of existing

data.

• (Katharine Whitehouse et al. poster P2.17, Monika Josh et al.) New technologies generate new data (images, spectral information etc): must be included in current data systems/new systems to be accessible and combined with existing data.

• (Ojiewo et al. P4.03, P4.04, Ajeigbe et al. P4.05, Ojulong P4.06, Chaliganti et al. P4.07); Application of information management and analysis systems to improve seed systems (for farmers and producers)

Automation; image analysis

• Seed image analysis research is increasing and improving rapidly (e.g. Ulrich Schurr)

• Germination (Thomas Borjesson et al., Kenan Genctuerk et al., Birte Boelt et al., I-Cheng Chen et al., Gomes jr. et al. P5-04)

• Identification (Ruojing Wang et al., Birte Boelt et al., Monika Joshi et al., Ciao-Yun Syu et al. P5.08)

• Seed Health (including damage) (Birte Boelt et al., Gomes jr. et al. P5.03, Priyatkin et al., P5.09)

RGB images, (3D-) X ray images, multi spectral images, MRI,

Show the successes, but (even more) important to also show the difficulties / failures!!

Molecular biology

Next Generation Sequencing: very fast,

very cheap!!

Applications in: Seed Health testing

Variety testing Purity Testing

a.o. Marie-Jose Cote / Steve Jones et al., and P5.06/05; Jain et al., P5.02; Chris Ojiwo et al., P4.03; Rene Mathis et al., P3.04;

What do we learn from the symposium that will help to be ready in a changing world?

• Biodiversity – environment protection

Research and test development on native species, wild species Kingsley Dixon; Setting standards!!! Maria Marin / Alison Powel et al.: fast germination test native species Alternative seed treatment methods (physical, herbal, biological) - Seed Health: LP-Plasma (Sebastian Bopper et al),

High CO2 (Tula et al. P2.07), Dessicant (low temperature) drying (Sultana et al. P2.08/10) Bio-agents (Patta et al., P3.01/02)

- Seed performance: Plant extract application (Masuthi et al. P1.09); Zn an Fe nanoparticles (Korishettar et al. P2.05); Dessicant drying (Sultana et al., P2.09), Biofertilizers (Mor et al. P2.15)

Require care in seed health testing methods (Isabelle Serandat et al.)

What do we learn from the symposium that will help to be ready in a changing world?

Increase efficiency (time, costs, labor) and accuracy

• Automation (advanced image taking and analysis)

• Next Generation Sequencing • Data management

BUT……..

Traditional methods leave much space for improvement and (re-invention / combination with new methods):

e.g. early count of RE with RGB image analysis (Matthews et al., Marin/Powel et al.)

In our changing world: • We must explore different

directions. • Be not afraid the face the

cat! • Show our successes but

even important our failures (let others know where the cat is!!)

Science and technology will help us; We need basic understanding (basic research) We need to understand new technologies (engineering) The ISTA Seed Symposium helped us in this.

Illustrations from Peter Kuper (peterkuper.com)

And… Many thanks to Laura Bowden

"Alas," said the mouse, "the world gets smaller every day. At first it was so wide that I ran along and was happy to see walls appearing to my right and left, but these high walls converged so quickly that I’m already in the last room, and there in the corner is the trap into which I must run."��"But you’ve only got to run the other way," said the cat, and ate it.Seed Technology and Quality in a �Changing WorldChanging world Seed Quality and TestingWhat do we learn from the symposium that will help to be ready in a changing world?Information (data) managementAutomation; image analysis Molecular biologyWhat do we learn from the symposium that will help to be ready in a changing world?What do we learn from the symposium that will help to be ready in a changing world?Slide Number 10And… �Many thanks to Laura Bowden