"You can never underestimate anyone, " said the second seed, who attended her news conference wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the message, "Can't spell dynasty without nasty".

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Chesapeake Energy (nyse: CHK - news - people ) boss Aubrey McClendon provided much of the seed money for the foundation, and serves as its chairman.

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In other green design news, artist Michael Jantzen has released designs for a solar-powered seed-sowing machine that would plant flowers at sites of environmental destruction.

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Monsanto's competitors, the Swiss Syngenta (nyse: SYT - news - people ) and the German Bayer (nyse: BAY - news - people ), also contract with farmers in India to produce seed.

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"The experts have, among other things, helped us identify which are the most important seed collections in terms of genetic diversity, " Mr Fowler told BBC News.

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