WINNIPEG, Winnipeg-based seed innovator CANTERRA SEEDS today announced a major increase in its internal research and product development (R&PD) program.
"We are set for some dramatic changes in our research program, in both scope and depth. In 2014, we will be testing five times as many potential varieties as in 2013, including a significant amount of material from the very early stages of variety development," said CANTERRA SEEDS Director of Research and Product Development, Dr. Erin Armstrong.
The increase in testing material has also stirred the company to run its own variety registration trials for the first time this year, in addition to entering key lines into the publicly coordinated trials. "This provides us with additional capacity to evaluate the large number of lines in our program that show strong potential," explained Armstrong.
"Agriculture has entered a whole new world of innovation, and CANTERRA SEEDS is determined to stay ahead of the curve by providing farmers with the best new varieties to grow their businesses."
Armstrong noted that cereals continue to make up the majority of the varieties evaluated, especially spring and winter wheat.
Armstrong also paid tribute to the company's ongoing exclusive agreement, signed in 2012, with Limagrain - the fourth largest seed company in the world - to test and commercialize Limagrain products in Western Canada.
"The number of potential varieties we're testing each year has increased by over 20 times since 2012. That's given us the opportunity to offer Canadian farmers a phenomenal degree of new choice and opportunity," said Armstrong. "What makes this even more exciting is that Limagrain is just one of several research partners we are working with."
Armstrong said that the first of these products could be seen by farmers in the spring of 2016.
For more information visit http://www.canterra.com
SOURCE: Canterra Seeds