Syngenta Scientist Named Future Giant of the Seed Industry
A Syngenta scientist is named a Future Giant of the Seed Industry for his demonstrated potential to help shape the industry’s future.
Seed World magazine, in partnership with the Future Seed Executives of the American Seed Trade Association, has named Qingli Liu, Ph.D., principal scientist at Syngenta, its 2018 Future Giant of the Seed Industry. This esteemed award recognizes people who demonstrate potential to help shape the industry’s future.
As project lead for soybean and sunflower disease control at the Syngenta Innovation Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Liu has spent the past five years developing broad resistance strategies that could provide new options to control disease beyond fungicides.
Liu’s most significant achievement to date is discovering a method that allows Syngenta to produce soybeans with tolerance to Asian soybean rust, a disease that costs farmers more than $2 billion annually. The disease can cause up to 80 percent yield loss in Latin American fields, with potential for complete defoliation if left untreated. He is currently working to apply his methodology to other crops affected by major diseases.
“Qingli is an exemplary role model for his colleagues and peers—both at Syngenta and within the seed industry,” says Michiel van Lookeren Campagne, Ph.D., head of global seeds research at Syngenta. “He is much more than a scientist. He is a connector and influencer who brings motivation to teams to go beyond what is expected—a true leader who can navigate the challenges inherent in seeds research and development.”
“[Qingli] is much more than a scientist. He is a connector and influencer who brings motivation to teams to go beyond what is expected.”
As project lead for soybean and sunflower disease control at the Syngenta Innovation Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Liu has spent the past five years developing broad resistance strategies that could provide new options to control disease beyond fungicides.
Liu’s most significant achievement to date is discovering a method that allows Syngenta to produce soybeans with tolerance to Asian soybean rust, a disease that costs farmers more than $2 billion annually. The disease can cause up to 80 percent yield loss in Latin American fields, with potential for complete defoliation if left untreated. He is currently working to apply his methodology to other crops affected by major diseases.
“Qingli is an exemplary role model for his colleagues and peers—both at Syngenta and within the seed industry,” says Michiel van Lookeren Campagne, Ph.D., head of global seeds research at Syngenta. “He is much more than a scientist. He is a connector and influencer who brings motivation to teams to go beyond what is expected—a true leader who can navigate the challenges inherent in seeds research and development.”
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