Plant Breeding Stories

Dr Richard Jones has spent most of his career working in Africa to develop and expand seed distribution logistics for farmers. In the first of a three-part episode about East African seed systems, Richard shares how a gap-year trip to Africa inspired him to focus his life’s work there. We learn why farmers “improved” varieties aren’t always preferred by farmers and how foreign aid doesn’t work as hoped to support low income farmers. He also explores some of the logistical challenges of getting agricultural inputs into the hands of smallholder farmers in Africa. He shares his convictions about how a reimagined regulatory framework and private sector involvement in seed distribution helps support the region’s agricultural industry.

Show Notes

Transcripts of all our episodes are available at www.pbsinternational.com/podcast

Dr Paul Matthews and Dr Katherine Easterling of Hopsteiner didn’t exactly plan to tackle the complexities of hops breeding when imagining their career paths. But, as fate would have it, their diverse life experiences gave them the perfect foundation to do just that. In this episode of Plant Breeding Stories, Dr Matthews and Dr Easterling explain why hops can be more challenging to breed than other cultivated crops due to their long generation time and unpredictable genetic inheritance patterns. They share how genomic tools, comparative breeding intel and creative thinking help them deliver unique hops varieties that enhance flavour, aroma, consistency and flexibility for brewing. The Hopsteiner scientists also share their excitement about the biomedical properties of the crop and what they could mean for global health initiatives.

Dr Mei-Lie Tan, the managing director and owner of Crea Nova Consultancy, has taken an inter-disciplinary approach to accomplish her educational, career and life goals. Her story is a testament to the power of collaboration, perseverance and innovative thinking. In this episode of Plant Breeding Stories, Dr Tan shares how degrees in plant phytopathology, cell and molecular biology and plant breeding have helped her become a more holistically-thinking problem solver. We learn what it takes to build a biotech research lab for a multinational seed company from scratch and why she eventually quit working for other people to establish her own company. Dr Tan also reveals why she believes that diversity is the secret ingredient for success and discusses how advances in human medicine could shape the future of plant cell research.

A transcript of this podcast is available on the PBS International website www.pbsinternational.com/podcast/

Links:

Crea Nova Consultancy http://creanova-consult.com

Dr Dave Bubeck, Research Director for Corteva Agriscience and President of the National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB), discusses how new technologies and company mergers have transformed some aspects of plant breeding, while also supporting the foundational principles that lead to crop improvement.

In this episode of Plant Breeding Stories, Dr Bubeck shares stories of pollinating corn with Raymond Baker, the first plant breeder Henry Wallace hired upon founding Pioneer Hi-Breds in 1926. He discusses how genotyping and gene editing technologies have evolved the plant breeding industry and touches on some of the things that haven’t changed – including the need for breeders to intimately understand the crops they work with. Dr Bubeck also shares how the NAPB strengthens plant breeding by promoting food security and a sustainable future for agriculture.

A transcript of this podcast is available on the PBS International website https://www.pbsinternational.com/podcast/

Links:

Dave Bubeck: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-bubeck-77b6b119/

Corteva Agriscience - www.corteva.com

The National Association of Plant Breeders - www.plantbreeding.org

Tress Walmsley, CEO of Western Australia’s Intergrain Ltd, is a leader in cereal breeding. She was instrumental in implementing Australia’s unique End Point Royalty (EPR) mechanism, used by plant breeders to recover the cost of developing improved plant genetics. Her vast experience in cereal agronomy and intellectual property management set her up for success in leading Intergrain, a private company spun-off from a government-operated breeding program.

In this episode of Plant Breeding Stories, Ms Walmsley explains how the EPR system works and why it offers breeding programs more benefits than the traditional point-of-sale royalty might. We learn why Intergrain supports an open, collaborative approach to business, and discover some of the atypical objectives in Intergrain’s breeding targets – which include cereals that perform well in no-till agricultural systems and a perfect wheat variety for Udon noodles.

A transcript of this podcast can be found on the PBS International website www.pbsinternational.com/podcast

To find out more via Twitter @interGrain1  or on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/tress-walmsley-8553b831/

Dr Hussein Haji, CEO of Filson Somalia and executive director of Somali Agriculture Technical Group (SATG), is helping to reconstruct agricultural infrastructure in his home country following years of civil

unrest.

In this episode of Plant Breeding Stories, Dr Haji shares stories of his travels from Somalia to India and Canada working with plant breeding in crops including sorghum and tobacco. He explains how global work and educational experiences forged his intention to return to Somalia and help rebuild its agricultural capability. His work today includes supporting farmers acquire improved seed, technology, testing and equipment for their farms. Dr Haji explores the challenges he faces working in a war-ravaged country and offers insights into how he hopes tissue culture can revive the banana industry in Somalia.

A transcript of this podcast can be found on the PBS International website www.pbsinternational.com/podcast

For more information about Filsan, SATG and Dr Hussein see: www.filsansomalia.org

www.satg.org

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hussein-haji-510a631b2/

Dr Mike Jackson has had a remarkable career in genetic resource research, curation, and management spanning multiple crops and countries. From potatoes in Peru to rice in the Philippines, Dr Jackson has dedicated his life’s work to preserving genetic diversity in crops essential for food security.

In this episode of Plant Breeding Stories, Dr Jackson shares why having a diverse pool of genetic resources is critical for the survival of modern agriculture. He discusses his work at the International

Potato Centre and the International Rice Research Institute, where he supported programs to advance genetic diversity, breeding outcomes and agronomics for potatoes and rice. Jackson also explains some

of the challenges of maintaining modern gene banks, including securing funding, effectively managing data and adequately preserving genetic material.

A transcript of this podcast can be found on the PBS International website www.pbsinternational.com/podcast

Find out more about Dr Jackson on Twitter @mikejackson1948 and via his blog https://mikejackson1948.blog/

Professor Rita Mumm is a professor, entrepreneur, visionary and change-maker.

Her formidable path began in Illinois, where she completed college studies through to a PhD while also raising young children. Professor Mumm’s plant breeding career has given her rich experience in the corporate world, academia and entrepreneurship.

In this episode of Plant Breeding Stories, Mumm recounts how managing a one-acre hobby garden helped set her direction. We follow her plant breeding journey as she explains what it was like to work at the forefront of agricultural biotechnology, developing novel herbicide and insecticide-resistant corn

traits at DeKalb. Mumm shares how she transitioned from a corporate role to one in academia to support the recruitment and training of future plant breeders. Finally, we learn about her latest endeavours at USAID and as Director of the African Plant Breeding Academy at the University of

California Davis, where she helps train plant scientists across Africa to improve continent-wide nutritional security.

A transcript of this podcast can be found on the PBS International website www.pbsinternational.com/podcast

For more about Rita Mumm on Twitter (@ritamumm) or on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rita-mumm-2a893425/).

Dr Lee Hickey, Associate Professor at the University of Queensland, Australia, leads a research team focused on plant breeding innovation. His work seeks to find more efficient and efficacious ways of realising genetic gain across plant breeding programmes.

In this episode of Plant Breeding Stories, Hickey shares how he pivoted from studies in marine biology to pursue a degree in agricultural science. He introduces the idea of “speed breeding”, which involves employing similar technologies to vertical farming, to accelerate research and applied breeding outcomes. Hickey also discusses why collaboration, effective scientific communication and grit are crucial skills to meet the future food demands of a growing population.

A transcript of this podcast can be found on the PBS International website www.pbsinternational.com/podcast

Find out more about Lee Hickey:

Instagram - @hickeylab, @drhikov

Twitter - @HickeyLab, @drhikov

Welcome to series two of Plant Breeding Stories from PBS International, world leaders in pollination control.

This series will continue to spotlight the diversity of personalities, crops, organisations, and technologies that go into developing new varieties of plants which humanity so urgently needs.

Look out for udon noodles, bananas, corn, and spinach - to name just a few of the applications - as we talk to entrepreneurs, academics, commercial breeders and non profit breeders with a passion for plants!

As always, the transcripts are available from our website www.pbsinternational.com and podcasts will be released every week, on Wednesdays.