Responding to Global Challenges

Florida avocado growers face serious plant pest and disease challenges. Gene editing could be the solution.
Did you know plant breeding started many thousands of years ago when people first domesticated wild plants? As the years have gone by, scientists’ understanding of agriculture has continued to progress. Adapting the basic principles that have been used for generations, plant breeding innovations like gene editing are preparing us to face 21st-century challenges. What could the future hold?
Today, thanks to an increased understanding of genetics, the capability to sequence plant genomes and the ability to link a specific gene(s) to a specific characteristic, plant breeders are able to improve a plant’s phenotype more precisely and more efficiently by focusing on the underlying genetics.