Seed Today

Seed samples at the Nijmegen facility. Photo credit: Gravity Gardens. Gravity Gardens has secured a €2.6 million seed round to bring a new kind of seed activation to market: a dry process that improves establishment without adding water, chemicals or coating to the seed. The round combines equity investment with EFRO regional development funding and brings the total raised since the company was founded to more than €3 million. The company was founded in 2024.

Syngenta Crop Protection AG and Amoéba today announced an exclusive supply and distribution agreement for a next-generation biocontrol fungicide, formulation AXP20, based on the lysate of the amoeba Willaertia magna C2c Maky (EU 2025/1177). The agreement converts the companies' November 2025 memorandum of understanding into a binding, long-term commercial and development partnership, with the product to be commercialized under a Syngenta trademark once registered.

Kansas State University is recognizing inventors and breeders whose research is producing new technologies, crop varieties and other innovations aimed at addressing global challenges and supporting economic growth. As part of One K-State Research Week 2026, the university recognized 36 inventors and breeders who received patents and plant variety protection certificates in 2024 and 2025.

Croda President of Life Sciences Thomas Reiermeir, Incotec Global Business Director Bruno Hoetgebaum and Croda Non-Executive Director Nawal Ouzren at the updated labs with members of the team from Incotec Brazil. Photo credit: Incotec. In August, Incotec officially opened renewed lab facilities at its site in Holambra, Brazil. Incotec, a Croda brand, is a leading seed enhancement company with a global presence.

Ghana’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture has installed a new National Seed Council team as the country strives to increase the quantity, quality and accessibility of locally produced certified seed and reduce its seed import bill. The new team, led by Abubakari Mumuni, was inaugurated in late June by John Dumelo, deputy minister for food and agriculture. Dumelo challenged the council to explore sustainable measures that ensure the timely availability of and access to quality seed.

Aidan Connolly is president of AgriTech Capital, a strategy and investment firm specializing in agricultural innovation and technology. He has more than 30 years of agribusiness experience and has worked in more than 100 countries. Connolly is an investor, adviser, keynote speaker and author of “The Future of Agriculture” and “As Easy as 2-1-4-3.” Camila Ulloa is a research assistant at Purdue University and market research analyst at AgriTech Capital.

Researchers and rural producers from Colombia and Indonesia explored opportunities to strengthen cassava production and processing during a technical exchange held in Malang, Indonesia, in July 2026. The exchange was part of the Scientific and Technical Support for Sustainable Agriculture in ASEAN Countries (3S) project, an initiative of the Government of Italy funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation.

Argentina and Spain compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium, where the playing surface featured OSU-developed Tahoma 31 bermudagrass. Photo credit: Photo by Bryan Berlin/Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 Spain and Argentina met July 19 for the FIFA World Cup Trophy at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The championship match concluded the monthlong 2026 tournament, which brought games to 16 cities across North America.

Matt Dannenfeldt is the founder and CEO of Seedbox Solution, a provider of reusable packaging and technology solutions for the agricultural seed industry. He focuses on modernizing seed supply chains by combining durable container systems with IoT and data platforms to improve efficiency, visibility and logistics performance. Photo credit: Seedbox Solution.

Photo credit: ICBA. The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) participated in the 17th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, held in Mongolia under the theme “Restoring Land.