Syngenta's crop-breeding program a finalist for prestigious Franz Edelman Award

A Syngenta crop-breeding program is one of six finalists for the 2015 INFORMS Franz Edelman Award for Achievement in Operations Research and Management Sciences, the company recently announced.

The recipient of the award will be declared on April 13 at the INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics & Operations Research in Huntington Beach, California. Upon being selected, winners will be inducted into the Edelman Academy and will be given a $10,000 monetary award for their work.

The Syngenta entry is their “Good Growth through Advanced Analytics” program, led by Joseph Byrum, head of soybean seeds product development. Syngenta's team utilizes advanced mathematics and modern technology to enhance their soybean varieties, in order to cultivate a higher yield. The team’s work reflects the company's commitment to making crops more efficient, an integral aspect of "The Good Growth Plan." By increasing the yield through advanced genetics, Syngena has managed to further a range of elements, including soybean variety accuracy, selection intensity, genetic variation and generation time, while minimizing land, water and inputs.

“We continue to see new soybean breeding technologies come to light,” Ross Weikel, head of Syngenta's soybean seeds product marketing in North America, said. “By using advanced mathematics and analytics, and other innovative approaches to increase yield, Syngenta can stay ahead of larger competitors that are using a more capital-intensive breeding model.”