— From U.S. Wheat Associates
Monsanto Company and BASF scientists have unveiled the discovery that a naturally occurring gene can help corn plants combat drought conditions and confer yield stability during periods of inadequate water supplies.
The companies said they would use the gene in their first-generation drought-tolerant corn product designed to provide yield stability to their farmer customers. This will be the first biotechnology-derived drought-tolerant crop in the world, targeted for commercial release as early as 2012 pending appropriate regulatory approvals. Both companies also recently announced that they have completed regulatory submissions for cultivation in the U.S. and Canada and for import to Mexico, the European Union, and Colombia. Submissions in other import markets will follow in the months to come.
In the U.S., such drought-prone areas overlap traditional wheat production regions including the much of the Great Plains. In field trials conducted there in 2008, drought-tolerant corn met or exceeded the 6 percent to 10 percent target yield enhancement in some of the key U.S. drought-prone areas.
“We know with certainty that drought-tolerant corn will replace more wheat planted area along the eastern edge of the Great Plains wheat producing region,” said USW Vice President John Oades. “The per-acre profit potential of corn frequently exceeds that of wheat where late spring and summer rainfall is adequate to produce corn yields. The Great Plains have traditionally been ‘wheat country’ due to inadequate rainfall to produce competitive corn yields. Drought tolerant corn will change that picture and further expand producer interest in biotech drought tolerance in wheat.”
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