Crops don’t operate on our timelines, they worship only the sun and the soil
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A seminar with Antonio Perdomo, Seeds Production Excellence Leader, Corteva Agriscience.
Written by Charlie Cooper
I recently had the privilege of attending a Seeds Excellence Seminar with Antonio Perdomo, Corteva Seeds Production Excellence Leader. Antonio visited the Cambridge team and provided us with insight into what Corteva is doing to ensure industry leading seed production and resilience within our seed supply chain.
Antonio started the seminar by emphasising the importance of Corteva’s seed quality assurance schemes to ensure seeds produced are both physically and genetically pure. This means that produced seed is free of any defects from the field and remain true to the hybrid varieties that have been developed with the hard work of the Corteva R&D team. It was interesting to learn that the yield reduction from impure seeds can be as much as 50%.
To ensure purity, Antonio gave insight into some unique quality control measures Corteva has put into place. The first is a vigour test which aims to understand how our seeds grow under different weather conditions, ensuring our products are resilient under changing weather patterns. The second tool analyses genetic material of our seeds.
I learnt about the seed conditioning process at Corteva and its importance. Seed conditioning removes any defects that may have originated in the field. These could be physical damage, diseases, dirt, dust, pollen all of which can have an impact on the germination success of the seed. By minimising defects, Corteva can maximise the success rate of the seeds dramatically.
Antonio went on to emphasise the importance of planning and execution to produce seeds, commenting that: “Crops don’t operate on our timelines, they worship only the sun and the soil”. He explained that if something goes wrong, we don’t have a lot of room to make decisions – there’s only one growing season. Therefore, planning the process of production and harvest is paramount. Execution becomes most important to ensure Corteva can deliver outstanding seed each growing season.
Antonio praised the adaptability of the Corteva supply chain team in ensuring supply to all our customers no matter what the season may throw at production. Corteva continues to invest in the development of outstanding teams to ensure we can meet the demands of an ever challenging and modern supply chain.
He ended the session by stating that having a primary focus on the customer has earned us a reputation of being trustworthy and that Corteva continues to be dedicated and committed to finding agricultural solutions to help improve crop yields and increase the productivity of farmers around the globe.
The team in action
The UK team with Antonio Perdomo, Seeds Product Excellence Leader
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