Seeking to sustain the nation’s pool of high-quality agriculture scientists, Seminis Vegetable Seeds has presented a generous monetary gift to fund important elements of the Cornell University plant breeding program.

The gift further enhances an ongoing alliance between two important agricultural entities: Seminis, the world’s largest developer and producer of hybrid and open-pollinated vegetable seed, and New York’s Cornell University, a distinguished institution that fields one of the nation’s last academic programs dedicated to the art and science of plant breeding.

In helping to fund the program, Seminis continues to promote strong agricultural research in public institutions. "The gift also acknowledges Cornell’s exceptional contributions to agricultural science and supports further research to enhance the quality of vegetable varieties," according to Fredrick Bliss PhD, director of worldwide plant breeding for Seminis.

Under the agreement, Seminis will endow the Henry M. Munger Internship in Vegetable Breeding. The internship, named for an influential Cornell professor emeritus, allows a well-qualified graduate student to become familiar with plant breeding practices in the private sector, through collaboration with Seminis researchers.

Also, Seminis plant breeders will be hosted by Cornell’s plant breeding department for various exchanges of ideas related to plant breeding.

"Gifts such as these help us maintain the programs that are ultimately so essential to private companies like Seminis," said W. Ronnie Coffman PhD, associate dean for research in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "These resources will continue our focus on generating the products and people that companies are interested in," he added.

Molly Kyle PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Plant Breeding at Cornell, said the agreement not only serves to recognize the long-standing relationship between Seminis and the university, it enhances the school’s ability to continue to train students "with a major emphasis on the fundamental biology and cutting edge technology necessary to support the field work" involved in developing new vegetable varieties.