Hereford, Texas
April 30, 2009
Advanta, the world’s
largest sorghum seed research and marketing company, has reached
a research and commercial development agreement with
Arcadia BioSciences for
the development of Salt-Tolerant sorghum. Under terms of the
agreement, Advanta receives exclusive global rights to Arcadia’s
Salt-Tolerance technology, which builds on the agreement the two
companies struck in January for the development of Nitrogen Use
Efficient (NUE) sorghum.
“Grown on more than 100 million acres worldwide, sorghum is a
very important cereal grain crop. This Salt-Tolerance
technology, together with the NUE technology, allows Advanta to
expand the global reach and impact of sorghum,” says V.R.
Kaundinya, Advanta CEO and Managing Director. “Many sorghum
growing areas of the world, which are also growing in
population, are challenged by soil salinity and scarce supplies
of fresh water for irrigation. Increasing yields for food and
feed in these environments is critical, which is why we are
excited to be bringing these technologies into our large and
diverse germplasm base and breeding program.”
Arcadia’s Salt-Tolerance technology allows plants to produce
normal yields and grain quality under salty water and soil
conditions. This expands the range of lands available for crop
production and reduces requirements for fresh water. The
expected result will be high-yielding crops with a lower impact
on the environment and an ability to grow on land currently not
suitable for productive farming.
In addition, sweet sorghum has tremendous potential as a
biofuels source. By combining technologies such as NUE and Salt
Tolerance, Advanta and Arcadia anticipate development of a sweet
sorghum biofuels crop that will be a highly efficient
alternative fuel source. This can be done while reducing the
environmental impact and requiring less fresh water. The result
will be more favorable economics than any other biofuels source.
“Considering the global importance of sorghum as a food source
and the increased interest in the crop as a source of renewable
energy, it’s critical to use new agricultural technologies that
maximize the crop’s potential and minimize its environmental
impact,” says Eric Rey, president and CEO of Arcadia.
“Development of Salt-Tolerant sorghum hybrids will help growers
to farm more efficiently, more cost-effectively and in a way
that’s better for our global environment.”
“This is a step toward fulfilling our promise to deliver the
latest technologies to sorghum growers around the world,” said
Kaundinya. “We believe in the future of sorghum in the world and
are fully committed to bringing about a greater role for
biotechnology in this crop. We are glad to be associated with
Arcadia BioSciences in this effort.”
AdvantaUS offers exemplary research and development programs
featuring unique germplasm for high quality forage sorghums,
sudangrasses, hybrid grain sorghums, sorghums for biofuels and
sunflowers. For more information on AdvantaUS and its
exceptional products, programs and more, go to:
www.advantaus.com.
Advanta is a global seed company headquartered in Mumbai,
India, with a wide range of proprietary products in important
crops that improve the productivity and profitability of farmers
in different parts of the world. Advanta is a member of the
United Phosphorous Group of Companies.
Based in Davis, California, with additional facilities in
Seattle and Phoenix, Arcadia BioSciences is an agricultural
technology company focused on the development of agricultural
products that improve the environment and enhance human health.
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