The fifty-fifth session of the Technical Working Party for Agricultural Crops (TWA) was held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from June 15 to 18 2026, bringing together over 120 DUS experts, breeders, and technical specialists from UPOV members and observer organizations.
Chaired by Mr. Ľubomír Bašta (Slovakia), the session opened with welcoming remarks from Mr. Yang Joopil, Director General of the Korea Seed & Variety Service (KSVS), followed by a presentation on the plant variety protection system in the Republic of Korea.
Over four days, the TWA advanced work on a wide range of tools and approaches to strengthen the examination of agricultural crops. Participants discussed proposed amendments to document TGP/7 on the duration of growing cycles, and considered measures to improve support for DUS examination, including possible enhancements to Test Guidelines and the web-based TG Template. Discussions also covered updates to section 4.2 of the Technical Questionnaire on the method of propagating the variety for crops including ryegrass, lucerne, tall fescue, lupins, hop, common millet, and coffee.
Image analysis and new technologies featured prominently on the agenda, with China presenting progress on an image analysis method for the DUS testing of maize varieties using high-throughput phenotyping. Italy introduced Kora, a free, open-source software for the digital management of variety collections, set to be released in the coming months.
Molecular techniques were also a central thread of the discussions. Participants reviewed results from the 2026 survey on the use of molecular markers, and discussed the UPOV model combining phenotypic and molecular distances, presented by France on its application to bread wheat. Italy also shared its experience on the use of molecular markers for DUS testing, with Brazil expressing interest in collaborating on the development of molecular markers for rice varieties.
Draft Test Guidelines for Fodder Beet, Grain Amaranth, Mung Bean, and Sugarcane, together with the revision of White Mustard and the partial revision for Sweet Potato, will be submitted to the Technical Committee for adoption at its sixty-second session in Geneva in October 2026. Discussions on White Clover will continue at TWA/56, alongside new drafts for Barley, Fodder Radish, Tall Fescue and Meadow Fescue, and Turnip Rape, and a partial revision for Cannabis/Hemp.
Beyond the meeting room, the TWA exchanged views with local breeders at the Central Northern Crop Research Center in Suwon on the development of new varieties of maize, rice, oat, and triticale, and visited the National Agricultural Museum of Korea, created to teach children about the importance of farming, including the value of new and improved plant varieties.
The session also marked a handover of leadership at the TWA. Mr. Ľubomír Bašta was thanked for chairing the working party from 2024 to 2026 and was awarded a UPOV bronze medal in recognition of his service. The TWA agreed to propose Ms. Anne-Lise Corbel (France) as the next chair, for recommendation to the Council.
The fifty-sixth session of the TWA will be held in Accra, Ghana, from June 21 to 24 2027, at the invitation of Ghana.
Read the full report.