Research

PanDia Seeds and its partners perform thousands of trial evaluations every year, which makes up a core component to PanDia's success. Trials are performed in numerous locations and climates, and across various seasons and years. This ensures the PanDia Product Development Team can select and promote the best varieties for each unique market.

The PanDia team follows a four step product development and trialling plan. These steps include the Screening Trial, Advanced Screening Trials, Semi-Commercial Introduction, and Commercial Introduction. Though this research and development procedure, thousands of varieties are trialed in tens of thousands of replications, ensuring that varieties are trialed in as many different climactic and geographical areas as possible. This leads to the development of outstanding and robust varieties that perform well in the markets for which they were developed. Below is a brief description of the various stages of a new variety's development

Stage 1- Screening Trials

The first step are the PanDia Screening Trials. This is where thousands of new varieties are planted, evaluated, and advanced or rejected. Numerous characteristics are evaluated, including disease tolerance, plant habit, fruit setting, along with numerous other phenotypic qualities.

During these initial screening trials, typically 80% of new varieties are rejected, leaving just 20% of new varieties to advance to the next step of further trialing.

Stage 2- Advanced Screening Trials

The second step of trialling are the Advanced Screening Trials. During this phase, the promising experimental varieties are sent to 3-6 advanced screening locations around the world. These trials provide much greater insight into the performance and adaptability of new genetics. This allows for results to be compiled from numerous growing regions and climates.

These Advanced Screening Trials are typically performed over two to three seasons to provide the best insight into the long term performance of a variety. During this stage, another 80-95% of the experimental varieties is rejected, leaving just 1-4% of the original breeding material to advance to the next stage.

Stage 3- Semi-Commercial Introduction

The last stage is the Semi-Commercial Introduction of a new variety. After the first two trialing stages, there are typically 2-5 promising varieties for each market segment. These few varieties are then evaluated for market acceptance during the Semi-Commercial Introduction. During this stage, seeds are provided to innovative farmers who see the potential in the new varieties. They work closely with PanDia's Product Development Team to fine tune the varieties and find the best placement for the new genetics. This stage includes such activities as Field Days, commercial evaluations, training, and promotion by the PanDia Sales Team.

Stage 4- Commercial Introduction

After the through trialing, screening, and semi-commercial introduction, this stage is when effort is put forth to educate growers about the benefits of the new variety so that they can benefit from its improved genetics. During this stage, field days, promotions, and word of mouth assist in helping growers select the new variety to improve the productivity of their farms.