Corteva Chief Executive Chuck Magro says the company's soon-to-be spun-off seed business, Vylor, could expand beyond corn and soybeans and into fruits and vegetables, aided by gene-editing advancements.

U.S. consumers are used to fresh strawberries year-round, making the country reliant on imports, and genetic advancements for produce crops have been modest, Magro says. He sees Vylor's gene-editing capabilities potentially leading to major leaps in fruit and vegetable crop genetics.

"If we can edit the genome and make a better strawberry or banana, there are real consumer benefits, whether it's health, waste, environmental, you name it," he said. "We can find a way to license the IP and get paid for it."