Biotech Updates

New Pioneer Corn Hybrids for Water-limited Areas

January 7, 2011

Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, launched a new generation of corn hybrids efficient for drought-prone areas. The corn hybrids labeled as Optimum® AQUAmax™ have 5% yield advantage compared with other commercially available corn hybrids. Thus, the growers would have lesser risk in planting corn in water-limited locations, and maximize productivity at the same time.

These new set of corn hybrids were developed using molecular breeding techniques to ease the identification of genes that code for higher yield and other essential traits for production. Field trials were conducted from 2008 to 2010 in 233 water-efficiency trials in Nebraska, California, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas.

"Drought is a complex issue and can affect crops differently depending on the geography and stress factors of each environment," said Pioneer Hi-Bred president Paul Schickler. "There is no single gene or ‘silver bullet' solution for the drought complex. Managing crops in drought-stressed environments is critically important to achieving performance results, and Pioneer continues to partner with growers to offer the best management suggestions to help maximize profit while minimizing risk."

Optimum® AQUAmax™ hybrids are introduced for planting this year, targeting the western Corn Belt.

Read more details at http://www.pioneer.com/home/site/about/template.CONTENT/home/guid.70C07378-C63C-4186-CD68-009409FBD786.