AI is Improving Your Competitors’ Seed: Here’s How You Can Catch Up - Seed World

AI is changing the way the world works. But most companies are only using it to complete basic administrative tasks, like taking meeting notes, summarizing documents, and improving internet searches.

It’s time to put the world’s most powerful AI tools to higher-value work. In fact, your competitors already are!

Going Beyond Basic Tasks

Gro Alliance launched a partnership with Israel-based Seed-X to commercialize its AI technology in the United States. Seed-X’s GeNee technology combines advanced computer vision, deep learning algorithms, and state-of-the-art image classification to deliver improved seed quality. 

Putting AI to Use

We’ve applied this suite of technology at our seed improvement center in Davis, Calif.  since December 2024. In just a few months we’ve improved seed germination, increased usable plants, removed GMO contamination, sorted inbreds from hybrids, and eliminated physical damage from commercial seed lots.

We’re improving seed lots across a wide variety of species, including tomato, watermelon, peppers, popcorn, cabbage, cucumber, broccoli, sweet corn and spinach. 

Solving Real-World Problems. Now.

The most rewarding aspect of our work is that we are solving real-world problems. This isn’t a research project or something a company might have access to in five years. It’s here now, and future-focused seed companies are using it to their advantage.

How it Works

The imaging cameras take pictures of every individual seed. The AI then runs thousands of calculations and measurements of those seeds. These include diameter, radius, square root of the taper angle, ratio of seed width to length, etc. The thousands of resulting numbers are aggregated and plotted on an x/y graph that allows an analysis of the relative distance of individual seeds in the lot. From that graph, we can determine how to best sort the lot to meet the quality threshold the company has requested.

Examples of improvements we made are upgrading tomato seed germination from 77 to 95 percent, eliminating fish mouth in cucumber seed, removing GMO contamination from popcorn seed, and removing inbreds from hybrid watermelon seed.

Don’t Get Left Behind

Our seed improvement center in Davis is ground zero for the future of seed quality. Almost daily we have conversations with seed companies that have quality issues with lots of new crop or carryover seed where all traditional methods of improvement have failed. AI is the solution. 

So, don’t let poor seed quality delay the launch of the new product, don’t let it create a stock-out situation, and don’t let your competitor fill the market void with their products.

Reach out today to reserve seed improvement time and put AI to use to improve your seed quality and your business.