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Nov272009

Ideal Corn

DateFriday, November 27, 2009 at 9:56PM

Corn is one of the most widely-grown crops in the United States and the world, therefore, development of a more efficient nutrient- and space-using corn that could thrive especially well in organic or sustainable production, as well as colder climates than where it is currently grown, would have profound impacts on the world’s ability to produce food without stealing from future generations.

Maize as it is currently grown in the United States is mostly non-dwarfing, and can reach heights of around 7 feet or more, while producing only between one and three ears per plant. A major drawback to this is that the plant must use significant amounts of Nitrogen just to establish its massive stalk, which then is only used to support one or two productive ears. What would happen if we shrank the plant? It’s been done already in corn, resulting in earlier maturing plants and planting densities twice that of conventional corn. In Wheat, another cereal crop, dwarfing plants had higher yields per plant, and higher nutrient efficiency use; I would expect the same in dwarf corn.

The next issue, then, is that corn only produces one ear per node, and one or two nodes per plant. This is simply an inefficient use of stalk. Why can’t ears be growing up the entire stalk, and in groups of more than one at each node? A model for this is the wheat plant, which has seeds in groups of three all the way around the head of the plant. In corn, there is already a gene that results in more than one ear: the twin-ear gene, that creates either doubled or “bouquet” ears at each node. It is an extremely recessive that was discovered in the 70’s but could not be stabilized.

I propose a corn variety combining these two traits: multiple-ear-per-node, dwarfing corn that is extremely space efficient, nutrient efficient, and cold tolerant.

 

Alex VanTuyl

 

http://www.agronext.iastate.edu/corn/production/management/hybrid/multiple.html

AuthorAlex VanTuyl | Comment11 Comments |

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