How BASF is enhancing its vegetable breeding focus

NSIP's experience in genomic selection across a variety of crops makes them an excellent candidate to complement BASF's internal expertise. By working as an additional partner in the specified breeding segments, NSIP offers knowledge that will help BASF introduce desired traits more quickly.

Under the terms of the multi-year agreement, NSIP will work closely with selected breeding teams, applying their extensive bank of algorithms to improve data-driven decision making throughout the breeding and selection process.

"By applying these algorithms with additional phenotyping, our breeding teams will improve the output of our predictive breeding efforts," says Johan Warringa, Head of R&D EMEA, Vegetable Seeds, BASF.

Predictive breeding brings together tools such as phenotyping, genomic selection, and statistics to help breeders make data driven predictions of which lines will perform best in a given situation.

"NSIP is excited to be providing both its expertise and advanced analytical tools in this collaboration to develop higher yielding and higher quality vegetables for the benefit of farmers and consumers worldwide," says Dr. Steve Tanksley, Chief Technology Officer of NSIP.

BASF is also working on genomic selection in-house, but NSIP brings important additional expertise and a unique Operation Research-based approach to breeding and statistical algorithms. By partnering with NSIP, BASF is moving forward in several areas where it can apply existing expertise as well as focus on other research area, according to Jan van den Berg, Scouting & Collaboration Management, Bioscience Research, BASF.

A key component of the strategy for BASF's vegetable seeds R&D division is carefully selecting the best collaborations in order to stay on the cutting edge of research.

"We cannot do it alone," says Andreas Sewing, Vice President R&D, Vegetable Seeds, BASF. "In order to tap into the best innovations, we must look outward and bring expertise in where it can strengthen our own efforts. This is part of our R&D strategy, to strike the balance between internal experts in a very nuanced industry, with external partners, who can help us make big strides in specific sectors," says Dr. Suresh Prabhakaran, Chief Operating Officer of NSIP. "Our aim is to be a trusted strategic partner and advance the frontiers of genomics and production technologies. We are excited to leverage complementary expertise of NSIP and BASF's vegetable seeds business to help increase productivity and meet the current and future food needs of our global community."

Source: Greenhouse Grower
Photo created by pch.vector - freepik

Source: Greenhouse Grower