Contacts

• contact: Dr. Mario Lo Pinto
• telephone: +39 0371 432800 - +39 335 7625904
• email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• website: www.istasementi.it

Company profile

IVS Ltd. is an Italian seed company owned by the group company Adriatica S.p.A.. The business organization of IVS Ltd. (ISTA Veneto Sementi) reflects patterns of European seed companies where research and development, seed production and marketing of its products are carefully integrated to select a number of crop species and spread the innovation resulting from genetic improvement. The corporate structure of IVS includes a laboratory for research and development, two units of breeding for field activities, some offices, a warehouse and a commercial unit with a wide sales network. The company also has a strong collaborations network with both commercial and research partners who adds strength and versatility to their actions. IVS uses a qualified team with over thirty years experience in technical and commercial seed crops industry, able to maximize the expectations of its customers. Since it was founded, IVS is working to expand its activities to all the Mediterranean areas and to countries of Eastern Europe. IVS Ltd. was founded in 2008 by the merging of two Italian seed companies, ISTA and Veneto Sementi, who have decided to assemble their activities into a single company while continuing to exist as a brand for the marketing of various products. ISTA (Istituto Sementi e Tecnologie Agroalimentari) was established in the early 2000 around a group of breeders and researchers who believe that the development of agriculture would largely depend on interaction between research and breeding activities. This represented the beginning of an integrated organization whose dual objectives are research and seeds sale. In 2004, ISTA has developed a business structure that can ensure the development and sale of several major agricultural species, on the whole Italian territory. In 2008, after merging with Veneto Sementi to form IVS Ltd, ISTA become a trademark of IVS products. Driving its research activity towards the farmer demands, ISTA provides a concrete response to market requirements in terms of yield and quality of its products. ISTA’s research focuses on the most important agronomic traits, such as: diseases resistance, quality characteristics of the main kernel components and the physiology of the plant. ISTA's activities, mainly focused on maize and winter cereals, has been progressively extended to forage crops, such as perennial ryegrass and alfa-alfa, and industrial crops, such as sunflower, rapeseed and soybeans.

Services and products

ISTA invests in research to improve the yield (production) and the adaptability to the environment (resistance) of various materials to enhance quality and versatility. ISTA is committed in a vast open field testing program to ensure the Italian farmer choice of varieties and hybrids more suited to their company. ISTA is also involved in creating a collection of germplasm from the best genetic sources of national and world.

Our methodologies

• Breeding programs and open field Selection programs.
• DNA technologies.
• Genetic Breeding assisted by molecular biology.

Traditional breeding programs

Maize

• Traditional Hybrids.
• Special Hybrids:
• High protein content.
• High amylose content.
• High amylopectin content.
• Low phytin content.

Wheat

• Selection of varieties suitable for cultivation in Italy.

Rice

• Selection of new varieties suitable for the Italian market.

"Molecular Breeding" Program

Molecular Assisted Breeding

• DNA fingerprinting of parental line.
• Use of genetic distances in predicting the hybrids productivity.
• Genetic map.
• Assistance in selecting populations.
• NIR Spectroscopy.
• Estimation of protein content, moisture, starch, fiber, cellulose, fats, carotenoids.
• Nutritional assessment, sensory merchandise.

Molecular Assisted Selection

• Identification of molecular markers associated with traits of interest.

Seeds purity analysis

• Assessment of purity of seed lots by AFLP analysis and/or SSR.

Fingerprinting analysis

• Molecular discrimination of different varieties.