Quality Seed | Quality Life
April 2022 Newsletter
Welcome everyone to the April newsletter and podcast. I hope all of you are staying safe and healthy.
First, we are nearing our first in-person program in over two years, a period in which most of our activities have been conducted virtually. Now we are all ready to welcome members to India for several programs, including APSA-World –Veg Vegetable Breeding Consortium 2021 members, who will attend field demo;2022 members for their annual workshop as well as delegates attending the Asian Solanecoues Round Table (ASRT) from 9 – 13 May at IIHR, Bangalore, India. Furthermore, there are many upcoming activities that we will organize virtually, including a field crops webinar in May and the Seed Technology webinar in June. You can find all upcoming activities on our website.
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Registration for another proposed project for APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium 2022 members, which is titled “Development of Tomato Lines for Resistance to Sucking & Feeding Pests”, remains open until November, or until we confirm the proposal’s maximum of 15 participating companies. Please find more information here or feel free to express your interest to Ms. Xiaofeng Li (xiaofeng@apsaseed.org).
On policy advocacy workin this month, we continue to work with the International seed federation, CropLife Asia and national seed associations on several important issues. First, let me relay an update on a letter that APSA, ISF, CropLife Asia and the Philippine Seed Industry Association (PSIA) composed and submitted to the Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, Philippines in response to the recently-reported new seed treatment requirement, including pre and post entry measures, referring to a memorandum dated 10 May, 2021, and titled, “Importation of Orchids, Ornamental and Seed for propagation and resale purposes” . PSIA and the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), Department of Agriculture, Philippines. met on 8th April to seek mutual solutions. The BPI agreed with an interim solution proposed by the PSIA that seeds arriving in vacuum-packed, airtight containers, tin cans, or canisters shall be permitted without insecticide treatment . Seeds arriving in bulk, cartons/boxes, ordinary plastics, and sacks without insecticide treatment shall be subject to treatment upon arrival. The BPI also requested that seed companies submit within April information about pest management practices in the seed production area of the country of origin, packaging and storage for their incoming shipments.
We also have an update from New Zealand, where public consultation on proposed regulations to support the new Plant Variety Rights (PVR) regime is open until 20 May, 2022. This consultation also seeks feedback on a proposal to revise the seed quantities required to be provided with a PVR application. The information about the PVP regulations can be found here If you would like to contribute comments on the draft with us, please let us know.
Looking ahead, we will have very productive month of May, starting with the ASRT workshop, followed by ISF’s Congress, a PVP workshop as part of a collaboration with the Thai Seed Trade Association (THASTA) and the Department of Agriculture, Thailand; as well as our Field Crops Webinar, and not to mention the launch of our e-learning platform, which is called “APSA Seed Academy”.
Members who register for the Field Crops Webinar will get the opportunity to use this platform before anyone else! So, please ensure you register for our webinar to gain first access to our e-learning platform, which you will be given automatically for a one-month period. We are also going to begin discussions with all 17 Universities from seven countries and our National Seed Associations on a memorandum of understanding to enhance collaboration under our University Connect Program, which received great support from the Working Group of Integrated Vegetable Seed Companies (WIC) during their meeting on 20 April.
I would like to end my part with an important announcement that registration for the 2022 Asian Seed Congress will open on May 1st. We are really looking forward to meeting all of you in Bangkok during the week of 14 – 18 November. Be prepared for new and exciting programs and affairs at this Congress, and please look out for an announcement with full details, coming to your inbox and newsfeed soon!
Aside from the updates I shared, there are a lot more projects, programs, and initiatives we are looking forward to working on with our partners and stakeholders this year. Many are mentioned in this newsletter by our technical team, events manager, and our communications manager. Until we meet, stay safe and healthy!
Thank you very much and again if you have any suggestions on our activities, the key issues you are facing in your seed business and possible collaborations, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at may@apsaseed.org .
May Chodchoey,
APSA Executive Director
may@apsaseed.org.
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2022 Asian Solanaceous Round Table (ASRT 2022) 
APSA, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), The Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) and Society for Promotion of Horticulture will be holding the 2022 Asian Solanaceous Round Table (ASRT-4) at ICAR-IIHR in Bangalore, India from the 11th - 13th of May 2022. This 3-day event will feature keys topics, such as: Solanaceous Crops: Modern Breeding Techniques & Resistance to Diseases and Pests, Genomics & Genome Editing, Germplasm Diversity and Plant Variety Protection, Breeding for Biotic and Abiotic Stress, The Past and the Future of Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt) in Eggplant, Application of AI and Digital Technology for High Throughput Phenotyping, and Breakout Session on Technology Platform Demonstration, Training Needs and PPP. This event is for Active APSA Members ONLY. Registration Fee is only 200 USD per person, with a special 10% Discount given to APSA Member Companies who register more than 5 participants. Please also be advised that any travelers arriving to India will no longer need to quarantine themselves, except for those arriving from the 19 countries specified by the Indian government. For more information, please visit the official event page. (https://web.apsaseed.org/events/ASRT-2022)
2022 APSA Field Crops Webinar – Session 1 
APSA will hold the first session of the 2022 APSA Field Crops Webinar on the 26th of May 2022. This session will focus on Agronomy and Digital Interventions to Improve Productivity for Farmers and will feature 2 guest speakers; Dr Zhang Minghua of South China Agricultural University who will talk on New Technologies and Equipment for Rice Direct Seeding and Dr. KRK Reddy of Sri BioAesthetics Pvt. Ltd. Who will discuss Alternative Nutrient Management Technology for Field Crops: Application of Microbiome Technologies. This event is FREE and for active APSA Members Only. For more information and for registration, please visit the official event page. (https://web.apsaseed.org/events/2022-apsa-field-crops-webinar-session-1)
RCEP Forum on Intellectual Property (IP) Protection in Seed Industry
The Asia and Pacific Seed Alliance (APSA), in collaboration with the China National Seed Trade Association (CNSTA), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City Administration Bureau (YZBSTC) will be holding the RCEP Forum on Intellectual Property (IP) Protection in Seed Industry focusing on “Regional Cooperation on IP Protection and Enforcement System to Promote Seed Trade and Technological Innovation for Food Security” on the 2nd of June 2022. The objective of this event is to understand the scope of Intellectual Property under RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) Agreement and the plant variety protection under the UPOV Convention to promote the innovation and investment in agriculture among RCEP member countries, to exchange the current practices of IP protection and IP enforcement among RCEP member countries focusing on PVP, the agriculture sector and seed industry and to discuss on how to cooperate among RCEP countries on IP protection and enforcement, with particular focus on PVP, under RCEP Agreement on the agriculture sector and seed industry.
This event is invite only but if you wish to view more details, please visit the official event page. https://web.apsaseed.org/events/rcep-ip-forum
APSA-Sathguru Plant Breeders Program Module I
APSA, in collaboration with Sathguru, will be holding a web-based live training program from the 13th to the 17th of June 2022, Plant Breeders Program Module 1. The plant breeding program will be an introduction to the basic machinery of quantitative genetics useful for plant breeders. Different verticals of plant breeding, such as Variance Decomposition, Heritability, Field Designs, QTL Mapping, Association Mapping, Inbreeding, Heterosis, will be discussed in this intensive 5-day program. Plant breeding professionals who have some exposure to statistics will be eligible to attend this program. Registration for this program is 300 USD per participant. A maximum of 50 participants are allowed, so registration will be provided on a first come, first serve basis. For more details on agenda, instructors and on how to register, please visit the official event page. (https://web.apsaseed.org/events/plant-breeders-program-module-i)
2022 Asian Seed Congress (ASC 2022)
Finally, after 2 years, APSA and the Thai Seed Trade Association (THASTA) as the official National Organizing Committee, is planning on holding the long-awaited the 2022 Asian Seed Congress (ASC 2022) in Bangkok, Thailand from the 14th to the 18th of November 2022 at the Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Centre. We are happy to inform you that registration for the upcoming 2022 Asian Seed Congress will open on the 1st of May 2022. For more information, please visit the official event page (https://web.apsaseed.org/asc2022)
List of Upcoming APSA Webinars
For more information regarding agenda and registration for the upcoming 2022 APSA Webinars, please stay tuned for more details.
That is all for Upcoming APSA Events. Now for some details regarding upcoming seed industry events from around the world.
2022 International Seed Federation (ISF) World Seed Congress
The International Seed Federation (ISF) has opened registration for its 2022 World Seed Congress, which is scheduled to take place from the 14th to the 18th of May 2022 in Barcelona Spain. Registration will close on 10 May 2022. There is only one registration fee of 1,500 EUR, which will be offered during the entire registration process. The three-day event will feature an exhibition, trading floor, meetings and panel discussions on a host of important topics relevant to the seed sector and beyond, with some parts of the program being offered virtually. ISF had recently just made an announcement that they have moved the congress to a new and modern congress center and hotel. For those who have already registered, no worries. Your registration will stay the same. Your previous hotel room booking will be automatically rebooked to the Renaissance Hotel Barcelona Fira by our congress organizer K.I.T. Group. The difference in price will be reimbursed to you. Please expect to be contacted by the accommodation team within the next two weeks. For those who have yet to register, please visit the official congress website to find the delegate registration page. We have additional rooms at the Renaissance Fira at preferential rates, and a few other hotels nearby. There will be no impact on the congress program. For more details on registration, event agenda and sponsorship, please visit the official event page. (https://congress.worldseed.org/)
5th China International Import Expo (CIIE)
From the 5th to the 10 of November 2022, the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China and Shanghai Municipal People's Government will hold the 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE) at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, China.
The China International Import Expo (CIIE) is one of China’s first import-themed national-level exhibition which provides great opportunities for foreign enterprises to showcase their products and technology wishing to enter and/or expand their Chinese market. The expo will also feature a forum of relevant government authorities, international organizations, scientific research institutes and representatives of domestic and foreign enterprises, who will come to discuss various topics such as new situations, new technology, new achievements and new equipment of the seed industry field, the establishment of an innovation system of the seed industry from a multi-dimension angle, build a business dialogue platform, advocate the intellectual property protection and focus on the innovative development demands of the seed industry.
If you are interested in joining this event, please visit the official event page for more details on registration (https://www.ciie.org/zbh/index.html)
If you have any questions regarding upcoming APSA events, or if there is anything else, I can assist you with please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Mike Kingapayom
APSA Event Manager
Welcome to Technical Affairs update. The same as before, let’s start with the APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium.
We are happy to remind you that the registration for 2022 APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium（CLICK HERE to learn more about the consortium benefits）is on-going, please CLICK HERE to register.
The registration for both the 2022 APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium Annual Workshop and Field Demonstration of the 2021 APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium Exclusive Tomato & Pepper Lines closed on April 25th. We look forward to meeting you early next month in Bengaluru or online.
The special project “Development of Tomato Lines for Resistance to Sucking & Feeding Pests” was launched with the aim for the seed companies to incorporate insect resistance into tomato cultivars, which will enable farmers to reduce pesticide use and produce high quality tomatoes. The registration close date for this project is extended to November, so as to leave more time for consortium companies to discuss internally and make decisions as well as for WorldVeg scientists to get more data on the project. If you are interested in this project, please don’t hesitate to click the link here for more details and registration.
We would like to share with you that we are preparing a Bitter Gourd Open Field day, which will be held on 28th July 2022 at WorldVeg’s Research & Training Station at Kamphaeng Saen, Thailand to demonstrate WorldVeg's genetically broad based and fixed, top new bitter gourd lines of all the market segments bred through recurrent selection. We will come back with more details soon.
If you have any problem or need help from APSA Secretariat, pls contact APSA Partnership Program Manager Ms. Xiaofeng Li at xiaofeng@apsaseed.org
Ms. Xiaofeng Li
APSA Partnership Program Manager
Standing Committees and Special Interest Groups
In continuation with Ms Xiaofeng Li, I also would like to inform you of an update on the collaborative project title “Identification of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers associated with resistance to pepper yellow leaf curl virus in chili pepper”. Registration for the project closed on April 30th. We will soon finalize the number of companies joining.
Next, re. an update on APSA Standing Committees and Special Interest Groups. Following is a summary review of the APSA SC/SIG activities this month:
Starting with an update from our Standing Committee on Seed Technology:
The committee, which last meton April 19th,welcomes a new member, Mr Ashley Fraser. Mr Fraser has been a Chair of the South-Eastern Region, Australian Seed Federation for 11 years, the Director of Australian Seed Authority and a Grains President of the Victorian Farmers Federation. He is currently a Managing Director Baker Seed Co based in Australia for the past 25 years. In the meeting this month, the committee prepared for the 2022 APSA Seed Technology Webinar session 1 to be held on July 7th under the theme of Seed Dormancy. Registration will open early next month. This year, the committee decided to recognize seed technologists in a first forthe seed industry. Stay tuned for more updates next month!
Let us move to an update from the Standing Committee on Intellectual Property Rights and Biodiversity.
The committee is continously exchanges updates with one another via email although they did not have a formal committee meeting this month. On another note, regardingNew Zealand Plant Variety Rights new regimereview process, ofthe committee is reviewing thexposure draft of the proposed regulations to support the new Plant Variety Rights (PVR) regime. This consultation also seeks feedback on a proposal to revise the seed quantities required to be provided with a PVR application. Feedback during this consultation period will be accepted until 5pm, Friday 20 May. TT If you would like to share comments on the draft, please feel free to submit to me directly, and you can find more details here
Next is an update from the Standing Committee on International Trade & Quarantine:
The group did not have a committee meeting this month but is still working tediously to update each other on policy advocacy initiatives. Earlier this month APSA received a response from the General Director of the General Directorate of Food and Control in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Turkey referring to comments addressing WTO notification no. G/SPS/N/TUR/119 and G/SPS/N/TUR/119/ Add.1 on emergency measures for Tomato, pepper and pumpkin seeds, which we had previously submitted to the Turkish government on September 28, 2021. The government informed us that the additional declaration should follow the WTO notification no. G/SPS/N/TUR/119/ Add.2,: tomato and pepper seeds were harvested before 15 September 2021, in the import of tomato and pepper seeds from all countries to Turkey until 31 May 2023, an additional declaration will be requested on the Phytosanitary Certificate. The strict measures (RT- PCR method) are still imposed.
The second update is from the Philippines on sanitary and phytosanitary measures or SPS, as a continuation from March SC ITQ meeting, CropLife Philippines requested to review the pest list of corn, watermelon and eggplant for sowing in the Philippines whether or not seed is a pathway based on the ISPM38. From the findings and evaluation of the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) team, total 14 pests (10 of corn, 3 of eggplant and 1 of watermelon) were removed from the quarantine pest list. This is a great example of how public and private cooperation can bring harmonization of phytosanitary standards.
14 pests that have been removed are as follows:
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Crop |
Pest type |
Scientific name |
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Corn |
Insect pests |
Acanthosecelides obstectus (Say), Delia platura (Meigen) |
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Corn |
Fungi |
Alternaria alternata (Fr.), Fusarium sporotrichioides, Diaporthe phaseolorum var. Cualivora, Macrophomina phaseolina and Pyricularia setariae |
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Corn |
Virus |
Strawberry latent ringspot virus |
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Corn |
Nematode |
Anguina tritici and Aphelencoides fragariae |
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Eggplant |
Fungi |
Choanephora cucurbitarum, Collectotrichum capsici Syd and Macrophomina phaseolina |
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Watermelon |
Fungi |
Macrophomina phaseolina |
The third update from this committee is also from the Philippines on an interim solution for seed treatment. As Dr May mentioned earlier, APSA, ISF, CropLife Asia and PSIA submitted a letter on the memorandum issued regarding changes in Pre-shipment and Post-entry requirements dated March 31 to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI). PSIA and BPI met on April 8th and agreed with an interim solution as follows:
A: amendments to the current interim solution:
1. Seeds arriving in vacuum packed, airtight containers, tin cans, canisters without insecticide treatment shall be allowed for release
2. Seeds arriving in bulk, cartons/boxes, ordinary plastics and sacks without insecticide treatment shall be treated upon arrival
b. Seed companies are required to submit information by the end of April on:
1. Pest management practices in the seed production area at the country of origin
2. Packaging and storage of their incoming shipments
For more information, please refer to the Philippines Seed Industry News below.
Next is an update from SIG Field Crops:
The committee would like to convey sincere appreciation to Mr Dipankar Baishya from Limagrain Field seeds Asia Pacific for his great contributions to the SIG Field Crops committee. Mr Baishya has been with APSA SIG Field Crops since the group’s formation in 2020. Further to this the committee would like to welcome Mr Rogério Alvares de Andrade, Head of Research and Marketing for Limagrain Asia Pacific, to be a new SIG Field Crops committee member. As a short introduction, Mr Andrade has been active in the seed industry for almost three decades. In his career he gas rajeb ib various roles, including as Breeder, Research Manager and Research Director. He has contributed to the creation and commercial launch of several maize varities, both conventional and GM hybrids, as well as wheat, sunflower and soybeans in South America. We are sure his experience will be a great addition to APSA SIG Field Crops, and look forward to his contributions.
This month the committee had a meeting on April 28th to welcome Mr Andrade and to update on the preparation on the upcoming 2022 APSA Field Crops Webinar session 1 to be held on May 26th. As Mike mentioned, we are excited to hear presentations from the two guest speakers, Dr Zhang Minghua of South China Agricultural University, who will talk on New Technologies and Equipment for Rice Direct Seeding and Dr. KRK Reddy of Sri BioAesthetics Pvt. Ltd., who will discuss Alternative Nutrient Management Technology for Field Crops: Application of Microbiome Technologies. Registration is now open so you’d better register soon to assure your place.
As for an update from the Special Interest Group on Vegetables and Ornamentals or SIG Veg & Orn. The committee did not have a meeting this month, yet the committee continously engages eachother with updates, including with its sub-groups and APSA Secretariat on various policy updates and following up on action points. They are also getting ready for their next meeting on May 6, which we’ll report on next month. Following are updates from sub-groups:
The Working Group of Integrated Vegetable Seed Companies or WIC members had the first WIC virtual meeting in this year on April 20th. WIC members welcomed three new permanent members, Lal Teer Seed Limited, Shandong Degao Seed Co., Ltd. and Vino Corporation JSC. These companies held observer position for a year and recently signed the WIC Code of Conduct to become WIC permanent members.
In the meeting, members discussed various topics, includingpolicy issues impacting business in the APAC region, University Connect Program, cucurbit disease management workshop and DRT project update. They also received updates on vegetable market reports from the national seed associations of Sri Lanka and Japan and an update on ISF Systems Approach initiative and phytosanitary update. It was a productive meeting and the next WIC meeting is scheduled November 13th at the Asian Seed Congress in Bangkok.
The R&D Advisory Group is very active to have a monthly meeting since January as they have planned a lot of activities this year, both physical and online formats. The group just met online on April 28 to have a final recap of the Asian Solanaceous Roundtable (ASRT) to be held early next month. APSA team looks forward to meeting participants physically in Bangalore. This meeting proceeds the ASRT-3 in 2019, which was also in Bangalore. Besides, the committee also has plans to organize a series of webinar in cucurbits this year so stay tuned for more updates.
The Disease Resistance Terminology Working Group or DRT had its first meeting on April 1st with new members of tomato and watermelon sub-groups. The watermelon sub-group has selected Fusarium wilt (Fon), scientific name Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum, to work on the differential table. For tomato sub-group, pathogens ranked as priorities (Bacterial wilt, Early blight, tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus and Tomato Mosaic virus) were deemed not ideal to run trials, as the results may be difficult to conclude since these diseases are not stable and may perform differently in different locations. All members agreed not to proceed for tomato trials at this time.
As a next step, the DRT WG will list pathogens with available resistant claims associated in the countries and shortlisted in WIC members and will discuss further in the meeting next month to select new crop and pathogen to work on.
This is all for now for the SC/SIG updates. All minutes of SIG/SC meetings can be viewed by APSA members by logging in APSA website and go to member area. Thank you very much and stay tuned for more updates next month. Should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Kunaporn Phuntunil
APSA Technical Coordination Manager
As part of APSA’s digitalization and digitization strategy, in 2022 we’re offering active members even more ways to directly reach Asia-Pacific seed industry decision makers directly -- in their inbox, on their desktop PCs, laptops, smartphone, tablets, and phablets alike, through our exciting new affiliate, sponsorship, marketing, communication, advertising and publicity opportunities.
We are pleased to announce our 2022 Digital Media Sponsorship Rates and Media Kit:
Don’t hesitate, INQUIRE NOW!
Email: (komsak@apsaseed.org) or Mike (mike@apsaseed.org)
Ukraine-Russia coverage: There has been much reporting commentary and analysis on the Ukraine-Russia situation, and particularly its impact on regional and global seed, feed and food supply chains. . .
Fall Armyworm Control extended with broader scope: To further combat the spread of fall armyworm, which continues to cause billions of dollars of damage to crops globally, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Global Action for Fall Armyworm Control has announced that it will be extending the timeline for the Global Action to the end of 2023 as well as and increasing measures across Africa, the Near East, and Asia that will complement ongoing FAO activities to control fall armyworm. . . .
FAO report on the ‘Wild Dozen’ plant species: FAO has published a new report, titled Wild Check: Assessing risks and opportunities of trade in wild plant ingredients, which sheds light on twelve important wild plants. . . .
FAO presses for import financing facility amid rising prices: FAO has called for a global Food Import Financing Facility (FIFF) to help countries struggling with rising food costs due to the war in Ukraine, with Russia and Ukraine responsible for 30% of the wheat imports of almost 50 countries. . . .
APSA EC, ITQ co-chair vacant: Abigail Struxness has stepped down as Senior Director of International Programs & Policy, a position which she held since September 2018. . . .
Access to Seeds Insights report published: The World Benchmarking Alliance has published its Access to Seeds Index Insights report, which provides more depth to its 2021 Access to Seeds Index results, including cross regional analysis, case study and next steps. . . .
Africa Seed Profiles 2021 Special Report: IHS Markit: Food and nutritional insecurity are a significant concern in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where some 57% of the population cannot afford a healthy diet. . . .
CPM holds 16th session virtually: The Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM) held its 16th Session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM-16), which was organized in six virtual sessions on 5, 7 and 21 April 2022. . . .
USDA releases ‘2022 Farmers Planting Intentions’: The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA NASS) has released a report on U.S. farmers’ planting intentions for 2022. . . .
USDA accepting public comment on seed competition until May 16: Seed World reported that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on March 11 ”initiated a public inquiry urging the public to reach out with their comments regarding seeds, fertilizer and retail markets. . . .
Read more on international seed industry news page
Australia
Application for flower color altered GM chrysanthemum: The Australian Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) has received a license application (DIR 191) for the commercial release of genetically modified (GM) chrysanthemum altered for flower color and intended for ornamental purposes. . .
Read more Australia seed industry news
China
Revitalizing seed industry in wake of coronavirus, geopolitical tensions: China has expanded the number of accredited seed breeders as part of efforts to address food supply bottlenecks. . .
China increases seed breeding, production bases: The number of national seed breeding and production bases in China has increased to 216, hubs dedicated to breeding and production of seeds for grain, cotton, oil, and sugar, among others. . . .
More from China seed industry news
India
Centralized seed tracing mooted for India: The Government of India in a March 30 meeting with industry stakeholders proposed plans for a Centralized Seed Traceability and Bar Coding system. . . .
India Greenlights SDN1 and SDN2 Modified Organisms: India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change CS-III (Biosafety Division) is now exempting organisms modified using two types of Site-Directed Nuclease technology (SDN1 and SDN2) . . .
India logs record wheat export: In the fiscal year ending March, India exported a record 7.85 million tonnes of wheat, which represents a more than three-fold increase from the 2.1 million tonnes it exported in the previous year. . . .
More from India Seed Industry news
Japan
Research sheds light on mechanisms of nitrogen assimilation in plants: A collaborative research group out of Tohoku University in Japan discovered the protein that inhibits the formation of organic nitrogen compounds in plants. . . .
More from Japan Seed Industry News
Korea
Nongwoo Bio’s path to ISTA Accreditation: As reported in a writeup, titled “A Great Leap Toward Laboratory Aims” by June-woo Lee, Nongwoobio Technical Manager and Sampler, getting accredited by ISTA in October 2021 was a great accomplishment. . . .
More from Korea seed industry news
New Zealand
PVR regime consultation open: Consultation has opened on an exposure draft of the proposed regulations to support the new Plant Variety Rights (PVR) regime. . . .
More from New Zealand seed industry news
Philippines
PSIA and BPI reach interim solution for seed shipment treatment requirements: The Philippine Seed Industry Association (PSIA) and the Bureau of Plant Industry, Department of Agriculture, Philippines (BPI) have reached an interim solution to allow certain seeds to be released for distribution without incesticide treatments. . . .
Pest List updates for corn, eggplant and watermelon: As reported previously, the Department of Agriculture updated its quarantine pest lists for seeds of several crops . . .
More from the Philippines seed industry news
Thailand
Special rice to be distributed for Royal Ploughing Ceremony: Six breeds of rice will be distributed by the Rice Department to celebrate the Royal Ploughing Ceremony which will take place on the May 13. . . .
First foreign-partnered medical marijuana clinic opens in Thailand: Opened on March 7, the Herbidus Medical Center is located along Bangkok's Sukhumvit Road,and will treat patients with Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer, eating disorders and insomnia. . . .
EWS appoints new CFO: East-West Seed has appointed Ratiporn Ratcharoen as the new Chief Financial Officer in its latest change to its Managing Board. . . .
More from Thailand seed industry news
Turkey
Ministry of Agriculture justifies emergency measures in industry response: APSA Executive Director Dr Kanokwan Chodchoey received an official response from the Government of Turkey regarding previously reported advocacy efforts. . . .
More from Turkey seed industry news
The above is only a sample of what’s new. For more of all the latest news updates from around the region, visit our respective news portals by country:
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Australia |
Bangladesh |
Cambodia |
China |
India |
Indonesia |
Japan |
Korea, South |
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Laos |
Malaysia |
Myanmar |
Nepal |
New Zealand |
Pakistan |
Philippines |
Singapore |
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Thailand |
Turkey |
Vietnam |
Central Asia |
Middle East |
International |
Asian Seed magazine Vol. 28 No.1 (Quarter 1, January - March 2022)
Password: Not required
In 2022’s first issue of Asian Seed & Planting Material there is a lot of timely and topical content. The cover theme and story of the issue is about the harmonization and international seed trade treaties rules, standards, obligations and terms, providing an overview and introduction to important foundational texts such as TRIPS, UPOV 1991, ITPGRFA and Nagoya Protocol, specifically ifrom the perspective of Asian Pacific countries. The President’s Address talks about the impacts of the Ukraine-Russia conflict and how the resilience of the seed industry will persist through this ‘trial’ just as we are with respect to the pandemic. A jumper of updates are provided in the Executive Director’s Address, including on APSA’s recent and upcoming progress, initiatives, events and collaborations. There is also some topical contributions from Access to Seeds Index and IHS Markit analysis of the regional and global seed sector landscapes, respectively. In addition, there are comprehensive updates from APSA Technical Affairs, other news and upcoming events. The issue can be downloaded by clicking the thumbnail.
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