How BioLumic’s UV Light Technology Unlocks Seed Traits and Boosts Yields

Seeds, like just about every other aspect of the ag industry, have been undergoing technological advances designed to deliver greater yields and better return on investment. And while much of the focus for ag technology has focused on addressing issues outside of the plant, BioLumic, a New Zealand-based company, is working to flip that focus to the inside of the plant.

According to the company’s website. “BioLumic is developing traits in forage crop species such as pasture grasses and corn silage that increase yields and lipid concentrations within the plant. Higher lipid concentration supports more efficient digestion when those forages are consumed by cattle and sheep, resulting in reduced methane emissions. With one trait process, they can deliver co-benefits for the farmer and the supply chain in ways we hadn’t previously considered. Moreover, these epigenetic traits (turned on via light signaling) are not encumbered by regulatory hurdles compared to genetic modification or chemistry.”

Steve Sibulkin, CEO of BioLumic, explains the company’s mission this way:

“The last few decades of innovation in agriculture have been largely focused on applications and technologies external to the plant, including chemistry that combats disease and pests, nutrient inputs, and genetically modified traits from other organisms,” he says. “While the industry navigates pressure from global competition, climate change, and even tighter margins, the new focus specifically for seed companies needs to be on technology that speeds up discovery and development of plant traits while reducing R&D costs and maximizing ROI.”

CropLife® magazine recently interviewed Sibulkin to understand how the company’s technology is being used for a variety of crops.

CropLife: Can this technology be applied to various other crops?

Steve Sibulkin: Yes, our Genetic Expression Seed Traits work across a wide range of crops, which is why they’re gaining significant attention. We’ve already activated traits in 12 different crops, proving that the mechanisms we target are highly conserved across plant species.

Currently, we focus on four key seed crops — corn, rice, soybeans, and forage grass — chosen for their scalability, market demand, and commercial potential. Our one-time UV Light Signal treatments enhance yield, root growth, and resilience without genetic modification or additional chemicals.

Unlike single-gene editing, we activate polygenic — or multi-gene — pathways, unlocking complex traits that traditional breeding and biotech struggle to achieve. Our process reduces development time, costs, and regulatory hurdles, allowing seed companies to expand their trait portfolios faster. This means seed companies can respond faster to agronomic and environmental challenges — without waiting years for traditional breeding or biotech approvals. In short, our technology is a scalable, non-transgenic solution that integrates seamlessly into existing seed systems and accelerates trait development.

So, to directly answer your question — yes, our technology is broadly applicable to many crops, and we’ve already proven its effectiveness across diverse species and more importantly, its market demand.

CL: How does this benefit the supply chain?

SS: BioLumic’s technology transforms the agricultural supply chain by making seed traits more powerful, accessible, and cost-effective, all while seamlessly integrating into existing farming and breeding systems.

For farmers, this means higher yields and stronger, more resilient crops without changing their agronomic practices or investing in new equipment. Since our traits work within the genetics they already trust, adoption is effortless, and performance holds steady across diverse environments.

For seed companies, the impact is just as profound. The race to develop high-value, non-transgenic traits has never been more urgent, but traditional breeding and genetic modification are slow, expensive, and heavily regulated. Our technology slashes development time and costs, allowing seed companies to deliver new elite traits to market faster — helping them stay ahead of shifting grower demands and environmental challenges.

What makes our approach truly groundbreaking is its ability to stack (our offering) with existing innovations. Rather than replacing traditional breeding methods, we supercharge them. Nowhere is this more evident than in hybrid cropping systems, where our treatments amplify parent-line (inbred) traits in ways that traditional breeding cannot. In 2024 trials, hybrid corn treated with our technology saw yield gains exceeding 30%, and we are advancing more than 10 funded trait programs across rice, ryegrass, and soybeans.

Beyond row crops, our technology also benefits the dairy industry and livestock producers. By improving pasture grass lipid profiles, we enhance livestock efficiency and reduce methane emissions — an increasingly urgent priority for sustainable dairy production.

By unlocking faster, more cost-efficient trait development and delivering game-changing productivity gains, BioLumic redefines what’s possible for the agricultural supply chain. From seed companies racing to innovate to farmers striving for higher yields and greater resilience, our light-activated seed traits offer a scalable, profitable, and sustainable solution that drives agriculture forward.

CL: How did this process get started?

SS: Every startup has its origin story.

Ours began when our founder and CSO, Jason Wargent, was conducting research at Massey University on the impact of UV light on crops. At the time, there was significant concern about ozone depletion and the harmful effects of high UV levels on plants. Through his work, Jason realized that plants were naturally adapting to UV exposure in ways that could actually be beneficial. It seems intuitive now, but all plants have a conserved set of mechanisms and photoreceptors for UVB — developed hundreds of millions of years ago when Earth’s UV levels were much higher.

There’s also growing knowledge about the remarkable adaptability of plants. Jason’s thesis was that precisely controlling and deploying UV applications could elicit positive agronomic gains. The real breakthrough, though, was that none of this was technically possible at the time — measuring, controlling, and deploying UV light at the molecular level was barely feasible. It was a bet on converging sciences — molecular biology, LED technology, genomic insights, and, of course, photobiology.

Now, we’re doing things with trait discovery that seemed impossible just a few years ago. The precision of our trait activation system is remarkable — we can now deploy 2.5 billion unique light recipes, each spatially, temporally, and exposed in granulated ways for different genetics, value-added outcomes and environmental conditions.

CL: How do you measure success?

SS: Our mission is to accelerate the transformation of global agriculture into a more sustainable, resilient, and profitable system.

Right now, we’re particularly focused on transgenerational trait gains. Our ability to activate traits without altering DNA means that in crops like corn, we achieve 150-times greater scalability than traditional trait approaches. This is the intersection of high-value results and real-world impact — something many startups struggle to achieve. We believe our technology will drive large-scale hybrid adoption at significantly lower cost.

Our ‘Methane Moonshots’ initiative includes rice vigor traits designed to reduce the need for continuous flooding in rice paddies — one of agriculture’s largest methane contributors, responsible for approximately 8% of global agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.

Additionally, our work with AgriZero is centered on reducing enteric fermentation — the largest source of methane emissions in agriculture, responsible for nearly 40% of global agricultural methane emissions. By enhancing pasture grass lipid content, we improve livestock efficiency while lowering methane output.

By enabling crops to grow more with fewer inputs, improving crop productivity across different environments, and helping seed companies deliver high-value traits more efficiently, we’re creating new opportunities for innovation in global agriculture.

CL: How hard is it to set up/begin this process?

SS: Farmers don’t need to do anything differently — our technology is built into the seeds they already use, requiring no changes to their practices. There’s no extra step, no added complexity, and no learning curve. The seeds they plant are simply enhanced with the benefits of BioLumic’s light signal recipes, unlocking traits that improve yield, resilience, and establishment.

For seed production companies, the process is just as seamless. Our trait activation system fits effortlessly into their existing workflows. BioLumic’s platform technology matches a tailored UV light recipe to each inbred parent line, using genetic marker data, agronomic performance insights, and biological diagnostics.

The activation itself is handled through our proprietary deployment system, requiring no genetic modification. The result? Traits identified and deployed in a fraction of the time and cost of traditional biotech traits.

Unlike genetic modification or complex breeding programs, BioLumic’s technology operates outside of regulatory constraints while delivering powerful, scalable trait improvements. This means seed companies can commercialize high-value, non-GMO traits faster than ever before — offering farmers a competitive advantage without disrupting their operations.

Whether the goal is improving stand establishment, boosting yield, or enhancing stress resilience, the process is frictionless. This breakthrough ensures that farmers and seed companies can unlock higher-yielding, more resilient crops — without the costs and delays of traditional biotech solutions. Moreover, by tackling methane emissions in both crop production and livestock feed, we’re shaping a more sustainable agricultural future while maintaining economic viability for farmers and agribusinesses.