New Breed of Super Seeds
Evogene Ltd., an Israeli plant genomics company is looking to engineer the world’s first insect-resistant seeds. As populations grow the world demands that farmers be able to produce more crops with fewer resources. Last year Evogene opened a research facility at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in Creve Coeur, where they studied plant biology in order to apply specific algorithms to plant biology to identify genes that would make seeds more resistant to insects and produce a higher yield. This company is already on the forefront of seed research, but now they are taking their research a step farther to find a true way to make seeds resistant to insects.
Previously, Evogene looked at the genomics of plants to try and develop new ways to make them resistant to insects. Now, however, they are expanding their research to study the genomics of bacteria. Insects grow resistant to the products used on plants to try and control the pest problem, so Evogene is going straight to the source to find a way to make the seeds themselves resistant to the insects. Producing this next generation of insect-resistant seeds is going to be Evogene’s main growth engines for the future, and they expect to produce excellent results for the farming and gardening communities.
How would insect-resistant seeds change the way you grow your plants?
