Jun 3, 2019Artificial intelligence used in hybrid tomato breeding
Agtech company Seed-X, which specializes in seed qualification during the breeding process, and TomaTech, a tomato seed breeding company, recently announced a pilot program of seed analysis using artificial intelligence.
GeNee Breeder, a seed phenotype analysis system that offers breeders reliable real-time classification of a wide range of genetic traits in vegetable/row crop seeds and grains, is being shown at the International Seed Federation Conference June 3-5 in Nice, France.
“By combining Seed-X advanced computer vision and AI (artificial intelligence) technology with TomaTech’s innovative and superior quality hybrid tomato breeding program, we aim to accelerate time to market by significantly increasing the probability of desired traits when segregating population and improving prediction capability in the breeding process,” said Favi Vidavski, General Manager of TomaTech, according to a press release.
In order to achieve quality traits in vegetables today, many breeders rely mainly on their proprietary breeding expertise and work processes. Seed-X’s GeNee Breeder is a breakthrough that offers breeders an alternative seed qualification system that analyzes seed images. GeNee Breeder provides breeders with a fast, professional and affordable way to capitalize on genetic models that until now have been off-limits to all but the seed industry’s biggest players due to lack of relevant genomic information.
“We are excited to offer TomaTech a new way to achieve its breeding targets faster and more cost effectively by significantly shortening their breeding cycle time. This is a key advantage of the GeNee Breeder system,” said Seed-X CEO, Sarel Ashkenazy.
The pilot program, which will take place in TomaTech’s breeding site in Rehovot, in central Israel, will study the variation within each seed population and the prediction accuracy for different types of traits.
TomaTech focusses on the development of innovative, superior quality, hybrid tomatoes, using cutting-edge molecular technology combined with classical breeding. Seed-X enables sustainable food security at the seed level by revolutionizing quality control at every stage of the seed/grain value chain.
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