Principles of Plant Genetics and Breeding

Funk
Columbiana
Farm Seed
Germain’s
Hoffman
Louisiana Seed
Co.
Peterson-Biddick
Shissler
Stewart Seeds
New Farm Crops
(UK) 1987
However, by the end of the 1980s, many of these chemical
and industrial manufacturing companies exited
the seed market. By 1989, the industry leaders were
Pioneer-HiBred, Sandoz, Asgrow, and Limagrain.
In an attempt for the exiting companies to increase
their market shares for high profits, mergers and acquisitions
continued in the 1990s. From this reshuffle,
Monsanto, Norvartis, and AgrEvo gained significant
ground, structuring their businesses around the “life
science” image (i.e., they developed chemicals, seeds,
foods and food ingredients, and pharmaceuticals based
on the application of the principles and practices of
biotechnology and genetics). In terms of the US market
shares, the leaders (total sales) in 1997 for the major
seed crops were Pioneer HiBred ($1,178 million),
Monsanto ($541 million), Novartis ($262 million),
Dow Agroscience/Mycogen ($136 million), Golden
Harvest ($93 million), AgrEvo/Cargill ($93 million),
and Delta and Pine Land ($79 million). The total market
share for Pioneer was 33.6%.
The shuffling continues, the most recent being the
acquisition of Novartis by Monsanto in 2005, and prior
SEED CERTIFICATION AND COMMERCIAL SEED MULTIPLICATION 437
Ciba (CH)
Astra (Swe.) Zeneca (UK)
AstraZeneca PLC
(UK/Swe.)
April 1999
SYNGENTA
(Winter 2000)
Novartis Seed
(CH) 1996
Sandoz (CH)
Northrup-King
1976
Benoist (Fr.)
1998
Maisadour (Fr.)
1998
Pride Seed Co.
1965
Woodside Seed
Growers 1969
McNair Seeds 1979
Stauffer Seeds 1987
Coker Pedigreed
Seed 1989
National N-K
Gallatin Valley
Seed Co.
Ladner Beta
Rogers Brother 1974
Productores de
Semillas (Sp.) 1989
Hilleshoeg (Swe.)
Misser Seeds 1987
Figure 24.1 Evolution of the Syngenta AG seed company. CH, Switzerland; Fr., France; Sp., Spain; Swe., Sweden; UK,
United Kingdom. (After Fernandez-Cornejo 2004.)
to that Syngenta (formerly Novartis/Astra Zeneca),
Aventis (formerly Hoechist and Rhone Poulenc – later
acquired by Bayer), Dupont (incorporated Pioneer),
and Monsanto/Pharmacia merged. A digram showing
the evolution of multinational companies engaged in
the seed industry is presented in Figure 24.1, as put
together by J. Fernandez-Cornejo of the US Department
of Agriculture (USDA).
General operation steps of
the seed industry
The specific details vary among crop species. However,
four basic elements, as identified by Fernandez-Cornejo,
occur in the seed industry from development to marketing
of the seed:
1 Seed development. This stage in the seed industry
entails research and development of technologies and
the application of science to develop new seed. This
is the plant breeding stage where improved seed is