A Royal visit to see development of new technology

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand visited UC Davis on May 14-15, 2012.

The Princess of Thailand and senior Thai academic scientists accompanying her showed high interest in the newest developments in agricultural and nutritional research presented to them by UC Davis faculty. HRH the Princess is a knowledgeable and dedicated patron of several charitable organizations that are active in agriculture, nutrition and community development in Thailand and other countries of Southeast Asia.

At the UC Davis workshop, Allen Van Deynze and Kent Branford of the UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center (SBC) had the honor to present a summary of recent SBC activities.

Allen described a new SBC educational program, the Asian Plant Breeding Academy that will begin in November 2012 in Thailand in collaboration with the Asian & Pacific Seed Association.

Kent Bradford updated HRH the Princess on a novel technology (desiccant drying beads) that is being implemented to address the challenge of safely drying and storing seeds under humid conditions.

This project, supported by a USAID-funded HortCRSP grant, is based on technology developed by a Thai company, (Rhino Research Group, Phitchit) and is being implemented in Thailand, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Kenya and other countries. Such expertise and methods will be instrumental for adoption of advanced seed technologies in Thailand’s agricultural industry.