Plant Breeding Stories PBS International

We’re wrapping up the Plant Breeding Stories podcast by reflecting on our learnings and exploring what’s next with our host, Hannah Senior, CEO of PBS International.

In the final episode of the Plant Breeding Stories podcast, Hannah explains how her studies in experimental psychology and business plus an entrepreneurial spirit set her up for future success as CEO of PBS International, a company that designs and makes specialist pollination bags and tents. We learn about her business’ critical role in plant breeding programmes and discover why the Plant Breeding Stories podcast came to be. Hannah reflects on the recurring themes she heard throughout the podcast, including the challenges of funding non-commercial plant breeding programmes and the exciting opportunities that new technologies continue to bring to the industry. She shares her thoughts about entrepreneurship in agriculture and discusses why more systems-focused thinking could benefit food production. Finally, Hannah shares what’s next for her and for PBS International, as she hangs up her podcasting microphone for now.

Links:

Get in touch via Twitter @ PBSInt or Instagram @ PBS_Int

Transcripts of this episode and all our podcasts can be found at PBSInternational.com/podcast

Innovating AgTech Podcast can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/user-73017811

Dr Leena Tripathi, Director of the East African hub of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), specialises in applying advanced biotechnology techniques to promote disease resistance in bananas.

In this episode of the Plant Breeding Stories podcast, Leena shares how her desire to promote human health led to plants and an impactful career in crop biotechnology. We follow her journey across countries and crops on her path to Tanzania, where she now leads research into disease resistance in banana species. Leena explains why managing diseases in bananas is particularly challenging and
describes where biotechnology and traditional plant breeding methods can support development of disease-resistant varieties for both smallholder farms and commercial banana production. We also learn why fundraising challenges and regulatory hurdles can often frustrate progress.

Transcripts of this episode and all our podcasts can be found at PBSInternational.com/podcast

Dr Julia Sibiya, Associate Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, is experimenting with new tools to improve traits of interest in sorghum and maize crops.

In this episode of the Plant Breeding Stories podcast, Julia explains why she chose to work with plants over animals and describes the career path that led her to a professorship in South Africa. She gives an overview of her current research, including breeding sorghum varieties for biofuel production and enhancing grain sorghum's productivity and nutritional quality.

Julia discusses how collaboration among regional and international plant breeding associations is important to help deliver innovative solutions for global food security and climate change challenges. We also learn how she’s helping the next generation of scientists prepare for the vast career opportunities available in agriculture.

Transcripts of this and all our podcasts can be found at www.PBSInternational.com/podcast

John Letts had a “Howard Carter in Tutankhamun’s tomb” moment when he was handed a shoebox full of 550-year-old ears of wheat. As a chef, archeobotanist and roof thatcher turned plant breeder, he brings a radically different perspective on what’s needed in grain varieties for the era of climate change.

In this episode of Plant Breeding Stories, John explains how taking the long view shaped his approach to breeding and grain production, causing him to prioritise resilience and sustainability over maximising yield per se. His entrepreneurial resourcefulness allowed him to largely self-fund his research and turn received wisdom in both conventional and organic farming systems on its head - with remarkable results.

Transcripts for this and all our podcasts can be found at PBSInternational.com/podcast.

Professor Girish Chowdhary is a computer science specialist at the University of Illinois. His academics career and interest in robotics comes with a real-world orientation, so he turned his expertise in automation to reducing the uncomfortable, labour intensive jobs in agriculture. The company Girish co-founded, EarthSense, developed its technology to meet the needs of plant breeders, creating robots that can quickly, accurately, and autonomously collect phenotyping data in plot trials. Girish talks about the differences he sees as he moves back & forth between academic and startup life, and why he encourages his students to push their work to more concrete outcomes than the proof points required for an academic publication.

Links: EarthSense website: https://www.earthsense.co/
Transcripts of this and all our podcasts can be found at PBSInternational.com/podcast

Dr Ksenija Gasic, Professor of Horticulture at Clemson University, is on a quest to deliver improved peach varieties to the U.S. market.

In this episode of the Plant Breeding Stories podcast, Ksenija takes us back to her childhood in Serbia, where time spent in her family’s gardens sparked an early interest in plants and agriculture. She shares her experiences completing a postgraduate program during the Balkan conflicts of the early 1990s and how even this adversity had some benefits for her work! We discover why it takes up to 20 years to develop a new peach cultivar, learn about the one-gene difference between a peach and nectarine, and how opportunities in genetic resources led the international exposure which ultimately resulted in Ksenija moving to the USA.

Transcripts of this and all our podcasts can be found at www.PBSInternational.com/podcast