BioLumic and Gro Alliance Scale First UV Light Technology for Corn and Soybeans
June 6, 2023 BioLumic and Gro Alliance LLC have announced a strategic partnership to deploy BioLumic’s ultraviolet (UV) light seed treatment technology for corn and soybean seed production, propelling commercial-scale entry of UV light technology into the global row-crop seed industry.
The partnership will bring to farmers a new category of seed treatment with improved crop performance programmed into seeds with light, a proprietary technology pioneered by BioLumic. Based on 20 years of science and seven years of large-scale field validation, BioLumic’s light treatment technology unlocks the natural genetic potential of plants by regulating their genetic expression to improve yield, crop quality, root growth and plant resilience across specific cultivars.
Since 2021, BioLumic has tested light-treated corn and soybeans seeds on more than 3,000 United States field plots, averaging yield increases of 15% in corn and 12% in soybeans.
BioLumic CEO Steve Sibulkin and Chief Science Officer Jason Wargent inspect an Illinois soybean trial plot, validating beneficial crop outcomes induced by BioLumic’s proprietary light-signaling seed treatment technology. Photo credit: BioLumic
“UV light signaling is the next frontier in plant science, changing the paradigm of crop production gains without solely relying on genetic modification, chemical inputs or time-intensive breeding programs,” said Steve Sibulkin, CEO of BioLumic. “Based on their longstanding record of rapid adoption of scalable innovation, partnering with Gro Alliance and their network of corn and soybean farmers and seed companies means we can rapidly deploy light-activated seeds that increase farmer profitability and contribute to a more sustainable global food production system.”
BioLumic’s UV Light Signal Recipe platform combines plant genetic insights, wide-ranging plant response data and a software and hardware platform that can deploy trillions of short duration ‘light recipes.’ BioLumic’s Light Recipes are a targeted, programmed sequence of light spectrum exposure which activate positive growth responses in seeds and young plants.
BioLumic’s Light Recipe “in-seed” treatment process takes just seconds to complete, does not impact other seed treatment applications or require farmers to change their growing practices and is completed in seed production facilities prior to shipment to seed dealers or growers.
North America’s Largest Contract Seed Production to Administer In-Seed Treatment
The partnership will deploy BioLumic’s light treatments platform in Gro Alliance’s corn and soybean seed production facilities. Gro Alliance is North America’s largest independently-owned contract corn and soybean seed producer, supplying seed production and breeding services for more than 100 different organizations around the world.
“We are excited to partner with BioLumic to bring this game-changing technology, which delivers a step-change in crop yields and quality, to market,” said Jim Schweigert, president of Gro Alliance. “This innovation enables farmers to improve their financial and environmental performance, helps seed companies deliver on their ESG goals and creates more climate-resilient crops.”
Breakthrough in Strawberries Led to Broad-Acre Solutions in Corn, Soybeans
First developed for seedlings in large-scale specialty crops, such as lettuce, broccoli, strawberries and tomatoes, UV light treatment uses targeted photomorphogenic signaling, a scientifically-established natural growth response induced by a plant’s response to differences in the light spectrum.
“Discovering that the same technology activated seeds as well as seedlings was a ‘eureka’ moment,” said Jason Wargent, Ph.D., founder and Chief Science Officer at BioLumic. “It opened the door to broad-acre, commodity production of crops like soybean and corn benefiting from the same remarkable results of UV light treatment that we had developed for seedlings.”
The partnership will start at Gro Alliance’s Mt. Pulaski, IL, production facility and expand across the Midwest starting in 2025. Later this year, select seed companies will be given access to BioLumic Light Treatments for their cultivars and the in-seed treatment will be commercially available to the broader market in 2024.
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