Press Release - Brimrose goes to France and finds still another seed application for the already popular "Seed Meister", determining the percent oleic acid in sunflower seeds

During the past few years there has been an increased interest to breed sunflower seeds for high oleic acid, a mono unsaturated fatty acid. Driving this interest is the fact that high oleic oils have a greater oxidative and thermal stability than do oils that are high in polyunsaturated fatty acids. Adding to the interest is the fact that there are both food and industrial applications.

In order to breed seeds for high oleic content the breeder must first select parent lines and then identify within the progeny those seeds with high oleic content. The identified seeds can then be used in the next generation back-cross. However, one of the most difficult tasks of the breeder is to determine the oleic content without damaging the seed. Gas chromatography is the current method for determining the amount of oleic acid present. However, the method leaves the tested seeds vulnerable to chemical change, thus potentially rendering them useless for planting.

The Brimrose AOTF (Acousto Optic Tunable Filter) NIR Spectrometer, uniquely named the "Seed Meister" is the answer to the breeders problem. Once calibrated the Seed Meister can perform single seed non-destructive analysis for oleic acid. Making the analyzer even more beneficial is the fact that it automatically sorts the seeds down various chutes depending on the predicted value. The software specifically written for the Seed Meister allows for as many as 5 calibration models to be applied to the spectra for prediction. All prediction results are automatically appended to a text file to be used by the breeder however he or she chooses.

Seed types and applications for which the Seed Meister is being used include:

- Total oil and percent protein in corn
- Sorting corn based on starch type
- Total oil and oleic content in peanut kernels
- Percent protein in soybean seed
- Sorting hybrid Vs inbred watermelon seed
- Oleic acid in sunflower seeds

BRIMROSE