Described herein are apparatus and methods for wounding plant tissue. A method of the present invention includes blending a plant tissue (e.g., a plant and/or plant part) in a blender (e.g., an electric blender) to provide wounded plant tissue.

An automated system for sampling seeds generally includes an automated sampling station having a sampler configured to remove material from a seed while protecting germination viability of the seed, a seed conveyor configured to receive the seed from out of the sampling station after the material is removed from the seed, and a sample conveyor configured to receive the material removed from the seed. The sample conveyor is configured to locate the material removed from the seed in a sample container, and the seed conveyor is configured to locate the seed from which the material is removed in a seed container so as to facilitate a one-to-one correspondence between the seed and the material removed from the seed.

The present invention relates to methods and compositions for transforming soybean, corn. cotton, or canola explants using spectinomycin as a selective agent for transformation of the explants. The method may further comprise treatment of the explants with cytokinin during the transformation and regeneration process.

A method and a device for propagating plants, by which the propagation rate or growth rate of the plants can be increased. This is achieved in that at least one plant is recorded at least in regions by an image recognition device and plant-specific features of the at least one plant are recognized by a control unit on the basis of the items of information obtained by the image recognition device. In dependence on the recognized features, at least one component of the plant is then automatically severed from the plant by a cutting means for propagation. A type and/or physical properties of the cutting means to increase a propagation rate of the plants are selected in accordance with the recognized plant-specific features of the plant.