BioLumic Expands Light-Activated Seed Technology to South America Through Key Brazilian Partnerships

BioLumic has announced steps to expand its Corn xTraits Licensing Program into South America through early-stage evaluations with GDM and a collaboration with Tropical Melhoramento & Genética (TMG), two of Brazil's leading seed companies. The company will also engage in regional seed production and nursery activities with Gro Alliance, building on commercial momentum in the United States and following plans to create xTraits hubs in grain-producing regions worldwide. According to CEO Steve Sibulkin, South American deployment is essential to meet global demand, with seed partners seeing opportunities to drive higher performance in less time and at lower cost than alternative approaches.

GDM's current engagement focuses on testing BioLumic's technology within its own genetics as part of early-stage evaluations, while BioLumic will leverage TMG's regional breeding expertise to accelerate field evaluation and adapt its xTraits Platform for South America's top-producing corn regions. Grupo Scheffer, one of Brazil's largest agricultural producers and a preferred customer of TMG, will run multi-location field evaluations across its testing network including Mato Grosso and surrounding grain geographies. This alignment between seed companies and a major customer creates a direct pathway to validate BioLumic corn xTraits and ensure regional farmers gain access to innovations through trusted partners.

Off-season nursery activities in Chile enable year-round seed production cycling, trait matching, and hybrid trait development for both northern and southern hemisphere partners. BioLumic expects these collaborations to drive a broader Latin America rollout over the next 12 to 15 months, with expansion aligned to partner commercial strategies. The company is currently evaluating inbred germplasm provided by Brazilian partners, with field evaluations and hybrid nursery production scheduled for 2026. Light-activated hybrids will be tested across both Brazil's first "Safra" and second "Safrinha" growing seasons to evaluate performance across major growing cycles and key grain-producing regions.

Data generated through 2026 and into 2027 will support commercial launch timing aligned to partner strategies for bringing new corn xTraits to market. BioLumic expects future expansion into soybean and ryegrass across Latin America in the near future. According to Tomas Tresca, Global NGT Traits Business Partner at GDM, this represents an important step toward understanding how light-activated traits could enhance performance and complement breeding strategies. Anderson Meda, Head of Research and Development – Biotechnology and Genetics at TMG, noted that the approach has potential to complement efforts to enhance stability and performance in corn hybrid development, particularly where rapid product advancement adds value for growers.