Joint venture to advance Australia wheat breeding

Trigall Genetics, a leader in wheat biotechnology, and S&W Seed Co., a middle-market agricultural company, have entered into a joint venture to advance wheat breeding activities in Australia.

Trigall Australia, co-owned by Bioceres Crop Solutions and Florimond Desprez, said it will develop and market high-performing wheat varieties for the Australian market, leveraging S&W’s existing commercial footprint and Florimond Desprez’s and Bioceres Crop Solutions’ breeding expertise. The program will encompass both conventional and transgenic varieties, including Bioceres Crop Solutions’ drought-tolerance HB4 technology and EcoWheat technologies, that can contribute to improving yields in a region whose productivity has been increasingly affected by drought and soil salinization.

The companies said the new breeding program is expected to benefit from the introduction of top tier genetics from Florimond Desprez and Trigall Genetics worldwide breeding programs, combined with facilities to accelerate genetic gain for the region.

For Trigall Genetics, the joint venture is part of its international expansion strategy into major wheat producing regions, as it will gain access to S&W’s Australia-adapted genetic materials, adding to its existing germplasm library from Europe and the Middle East/North Africa through Florimond Desprez and South America from Bioceres Crop Solutions.

“Through this JV, Florimond Desprez continues with the internationalization of its wheat breeding activities,” said François Desprez, president of Trigall Genetics and Florimond Desprez. “We believe the company’s accumulated knowledge and skills in terms of breeding techniques will boost the existing platform developed by S&W Seed in Australia to serve the needs of local growers and grain industry.”

Mark Wong, chief executive officer of S&W Seed, added: “We are excited to enter this JV to combine our commercial footprint with the unique technologies and expertise of our partners.”

Tags: Market, genetics, varieties, Trigall Genetics, S&W Seed Co., high-performing, Australia, wheat