Automation for Plant Bioengineering: Opportunities, Considerations, and Emerging Solutions

February 5, 2026
10:30 AM -12:30 PM ET
7:30- 9:30 AM PT
16:30-18:30 CET
2-hour workshop followed by 30-minute discussion

About the Event

This event will provide the opportunity to learn about the prospects of automation for plant bioengineering and attendees will be invited to contribute to the discussion. Perspectives will be presented on why automation is needed, aspects that need to be considered for practical solutions, and current technology that can be adapted for plant bioengineering workflows. Speaker affiliations are from Inari Agriculture, Sierra Gold Nurseries, Viscon Group, and Ball Horticultural Company.

Certificate of Participation

Recordings

PlantGENE will continue to build on this event. Leadership is planning on hosting additional events that will continue the discussion around laboratory automation for plant bioengineering. As a community-driven initiative, leadership value your input! Please take the survey below to influence future events. 

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Q & A from the Chat

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FROM THE ZOOM CHAT

Below are conversations between workshop attendees. PlantGENE does not endorse or fact-check any comments made by attendees.

PS: In plant bioengineering labs, what roles are truly elevated by automation, and which skills do scientists now need that were not required before?

Christopher Bagley: One perspective is that the roles of all our technicians and scientists are elevated. Instead of using that time taking care of the materials in the lab, they can putting more time designing experiments, staying on top of the current literature to come up with new ideas and working on other challenges in our companies and institutions.

TJ: Micah, for vessel design, what do you think about a standard 24/48 well cell culture plate but with deeper wells and and taller lids? Many liquid handlers are already designed for these plate length/width dimensions. Could this help with the adoption of an industry standard?

Micah Stevens: Yes, I think something like that is where things are headed. Having individual cells where the plants are would make it much easier for the robotic arm to find and pick them up.

Veena Veena: Many times solutions available in market still need customization and have a learning curve before it can be used for your own type of work and method.

KG: Hello, It was mentioned that automation shouldn’t be used in all cases by Dr. Bagley, what examples are there for this?

Christopher Bagley: I think just because you can automate something does not mean you should. I once saw a lab learn to automate an explant extraction step in the lab, but it was actually slower than a human. In other words there was very little impact to automate this step with the current technology. The point is we should all be thoughtful on what we automate based on cost, time, and impact.

Veena Veena: Many times simple solutions are good enough to solve the challenges one can experience and help significantly reduce the ergonomics stress to the researcher or increase the scale. Every lab and researcher doesn’t work the scale that would require mega scale automation. That is why is important to be very thoughtful and very realistic about when to deploy these technologies.

KM: Somatic embryos are more sensitive. Did you observe any damage to the somatic embryos? What is the contamination rate?
Kelly Chapman: We have had no contamination – this was a huge focus in the development process. Suzane would have more exact data for the handling of embryos.

ES: What could be the reason why the laser cut is causing more side shoot formation than the manual cutting?

Veena Veena: There are many reasons for that. Sometimes it can be as simple as loss of apical dominance in the tissue that being cut and that can trigger generation of multiple shoots.

Micah Stevens: I think there is something also to be said that when you cut plant tissue with a laser it cauterizes to wound, which prevents any exudation from the plant that might slow growth

 

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Speakers

Christopher Bagley
Sr Director, Early Product Development
Inari Agriculture

Christopher Bagley was born and raised in rural Virginia, where he grew up on a small family farm cultivating sweet corn, strawberries, blackberries, pumpkins, and raising beef cattle. This early exposure to agriculture sparked a lifelong passion for plant science and sustainability, ultimately leading him to earn an M.S. in Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences from Virginia Tech.  In 2002, Christopher joined BASF in Research Triangle Park, NC, where he was introduced to tissue culture and its application in agricultural product development. At BASF, he worked on maize transformation, contributing to the development of genetically modified traits aimed at improving yield, livestock feed quality, and fungal resistance.  In 2014, he joined Bayer Crop Science as the Plant Genome Engineering Group Lead, where he led the transformation team in discovering and developing insecticidal and herbicide-resistant traits in soybean. In 2019, Christopher accepted the role of Senior Director of Plant Transformation at Inari Agriculture in West Lafayette, IN, where he built a transformation team from the ground up in a newly opened facility. His team successfully established platforms to gene edit tomato, wheat, soybean, and maize.  Currently, Christopher serves as the Senior Director of Early Product Development at Inari Agriculture, enabling a team focused on gene editing and molecular characterization of plants to bring innovative, sustainable solutions to market that positively impact crop yields. 

Automating transformation and supporting processes is more than a technology upgrade, it is a strategic necessity for sustainable operations. This session explains why automation matters now, taking into consideration three critical factors: People, Quality, and Productivity. Automation reduces ergonomic risks and repetitive strain and retains talent through safer, more engaging work environments. Standardizing processes through automation enhances consistency and quality control, minimizing variability and errors. Increased efficiency and throughput allow teams to concentrate on higher‑value tasks. Attendees will gain insights into why automation matters and how adoption can bring meaningful impact and value creation for all labs that employ transformation technologies. The session concludes with an interactive Q&A to address real‑world challenges and ideas.

Veena Veena
Managing Director
BE2 Consulting, LLC

Dr. Veena Veena is the Founder and Managing Director of BE2 Consulting LLC, an independent consulting firm focused on improving crop traits through plant genetic engineering and genome editing.

Dr. Veena brings over 30 years of combined academic and industry experience in plant molecular biology, genome modification, and plant transformation across a wide range of plant species. She holds a PhD in Plant Molecular Biology from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; and an MBA from Saint Louis University, MO. Her postdoctoral training at Purdue University and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center focused on elucidating the molecular basis of Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation.

Dr. Veena spent nearly a decade at Monsanto (now Bayer) as a Senior Scientist, where she contributed to the development of high-throughput gene and promoter screening platforms, genome-modification technologies, and selectable marker–free transgenic pipelines. From 2016 to 2026, Dr. Veena served as Principal Investigator and Director of the Plant Transformation Facility at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, leading a globally engaged facility that supported academic, commercial, and philanthropic partners. Under her leadership, the facility leveraged genetic engineering and precision genome-modification technologies to accelerate crop development with improved traits.

Through BE2 Consulting LLC, Dr. Veena provides full-service plant transformation and genome editing consulting, helping organizations progress from early trait concepts to validated transgenic events and advancement toward product development. BE2 combines deep scientific expertise with practical, strategic guidance to reduce technical risk, strengthen scientific rigor, and accelerate development timelines. The firm supports clients end-to-end, from trait discovery and experimental design through molecular validation and event quality assessment. We also support clients  in lab design, operational efficiency, streamlined transformation pipelines, and business strategy to enable efficient generation of transgenic plants.

In addition to her consulting work, Dr. Veena serves as a Steering Committee member for PlantGENE, is an active member of the Society for In Vitro Biology , and serves on the Public Policy Committee and Editorial Board of In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology – Plant.

Automating transformation and supporting processes is more than a technology upgrade, it is a strategic necessity for sustainable operations. This session explains why automation matters now, taking into consideration three critical factors: People, Quality, and Productivity. Automation reduces ergonomic risks and repetitive strain and retains talent through safer, more engaging work environments. Standardizing processes through automation enhances consistency and quality control, minimizing variability and errors. Increased efficiency and throughput allow teams to concentrate on higher‑value tasks. Attendees will gain insights into why automation matters and how adoption can bring meaningful impact and value creation for all labs that employ transformation technologies. The session concludes with an interactive Q&A to address real‑world challenges and ideas.

Micah Stevens
Research Manager
Sierra Gold Nurseries

I am a plant propagation specialist whose work spans academic research, applied biotechnology, and industry-led innovation in woody plant micropropagation. With a foundational background in tissue culture and tree physiology, my research has centered on overcoming propagation recalcitrance in hardwood species, optimizing in vitro culture systems, and advancing genetic transformation methodologies. I received my B.S. in Horticulture Science from the University of Kentucky in 2010 before going on to earn my M.S and Ph.D in Forest Tree Genetics at Purdue University. Upon completion of my degrees I have been working in commercial tissue culture focusing on Fruit and Nut Tree micropropagation.

Here at Sierra Gold Nurseries we produce roughly 4 million fruit and nut tree rootstocks a year through tissue culture. Meeting these production goals requires a crew of dozens of employees that work to make media, perform quality control checks, cutting plants, and washing dishes. Compared to other propagation methods utilized at the nursery, micropropagation is much more labor intensive. As such, labor alone accounts for 75% of the total cost of finished tissue culture plants. Despite its high labor cost, tissue culture maintains significant advantages over more traditional methods because it allows us to maintain disease free plants, have more flexible production time-lines, and the ability to propagate elite genotype of pistachios or walnuts that are otherwise recalcitrant to these methods. We attempt to mitigate these high labor costs by focusing on high-quality plants in the lab which in turn are reflected in high acclimatization survival rates once plants transition to the greenhouse. The higher the survival rates the fewer plants we have to try and acclimatize. Another exciting way to reduce the cost of tissue culture plants is through automation, whether in media making or cutting plants. Long seen as a moonshot idea for commercial tissue culture, with recent advances we are fast approaching the day automation becomes a reality. In my presentation I plan to cover micropropagation automation from the perspective of a commercial lab and focus on what we see as the limiting factors to successful implementation and how these can be overcome.

Suzane Pols
Team Lead - Plant Science
Viscon Group

I’m a South African plant biotechnologist with a strong background in the postharvest and agriculture industry, where I have focused on situations that allow science to translate into real-world impact. My work now sits at the intersection of plants, robotics, and machine learning, exploring how intelligent technologies can reshape the future of plant biotechnology. Driven by curiosity and innovation, I’m equally passionate about science communication and breaking down complex ideas to spark engagement.

This talk examines the practical requirements for implementing automation in laboratory and propagation environments. Effective automation depends not only on technological readiness, but also on standardized processes, data structures, and workflows. Without standardization, automation can increase complexity, reduce flexibility, and limit return on investment.

We will present approaches for assessing readiness, defining automation objectives, and redesigning workflows to enable reliable deployment. Decision frameworks for selecting fully automated versus hybrid human–machine systems will be explored, along with strategies for balancing cost, throughput, quality, and workforce impact.

Key considerations—including workflow redesign, standard operating procedures, interoperability, validation, and change management—will be illustrated through real-world examples and lessons learned from ongoing automation initiatives.

Future progress will rely on integrating emerging technologies with practical frameworks for standardization and implementation.

Kelly Chapman
Plant Science Specialist
Viscon Group

Kelly Butler Chapman is a scientist, farmer, and entrepreneur, and serves as the Plant Science Specialist for Viscon Plant Technology in North America. Kelly’s role involves a range of technical expertise from plant biology to software development and robotics in an effort to automate processes ranging from tissue culture to final shipment. Kelly has done everything from digging ditches to DNA (literally).

Kelly has embraced a lifelong passion for plants and new technologies. Her history in plant science includes: gardening and selling plants at age 8, hydroponics investigations at age 12, starting a greenhouse business at age 15, state and national FFA activities, and work at NC State University. Kelly worked in weed science research and completed her Master’s degree in plant breeding with interdisciplinary studies in plant pathology, biotechnology, and genetics.
Her commercial experience includes Vigortone Ag Products, F.W. Rickard Seed Company, Bayer Crop Science, Global Agricultural Development Corporation (iAdvantage Software), private consulting, and Viscon.

As a small business owner, she has been involved in finance, business development, management, and human resources. She has two daughters, one granddaughter, and a large extended family. She is actively involved in her family’s fourth-generation farm in north-central North Carolina.

This talk examines the practical requirements for implementing automation in laboratory and propagation environments. Effective automation depends not only on technological readiness, but also on standardized processes, data structures, and workflows. Without standardization, automation can increase complexity, reduce flexibility, and limit return on investment.

We will present approaches for assessing readiness, defining automation objectives, and redesigning workflows to enable reliable deployment. Decision frameworks for selecting fully automated versus hybrid human–machine systems will be explored, along with strategies for balancing cost, throughput, quality, and workforce impact.

Key considerations—including workflow redesign, standard operating procedures, interoperability, validation, and change management—will be illustrated through real-world examples and lessons learned from ongoing automation initiatives.

Future progress will rely on integrating emerging technologies with practical frameworks for standardization and implementation.

Michael Henzler
New Business Development
Ball Horticultural Company

With more than 40 years of experience in horticulture, my career has been driven by one core focus: making our industry more efficient, consistent, and scalable. Over time, that focus has evolved to include not just efficiency, but also the highest standards of sanitation and quality control.

At Ball Horticultural Company, I work at the intersection of automation, production efficiency, and supply chain optimization—designing systems that improve both internal operations and customer outcomes. These improvements often work hand-in-hand across the entire supply chain.

In this presentation, I’ll explore how tissue culture propagation can be seamlessly connected and automated within the young plant production process, creating a more reliable, scalable, and efficient production model from lab to greenhouse or field.