October 4, 2006

Monsanto to introduce drought-tolerant crops

With an aim towards fighting water shortage and boosting yield in its latest seed offering, Monsanto, the world's largest developer of GM crops, would be planting an experimental corn seed in dry parts of the US.

If the trial is successful, the seed would boost corn yields by 40 percent in the next decade. The seed could also enhance yields by 8 to 10 percent on farms with no irrigation, especially those from North Dakota to Texas, said Robert T. Fraley, chief technology officer for Monsanto.

The improved seeds would be introduced after 2010 and is expected to bolster yields in drier regions by 37 percent.

The genes in the new seeds would also provide additional nutritious animal feed to ethanol makers after extracting the fuel, Fraley added.

Corn, which was originally grown for animal feed, is also used for oils and syrup. Increased amounts of it going towards the making of ethanol has led to higher corn demand in the US. By 2015, when the country nurtures the improved corn, ethanol is expected to be the crop's dominant usage and the corn usage for ethanol might go up to 41 percent from the current 18, noted Fraley.

This however, meant that corn for animal feed would drop by half to 18 percent, he said.

Next February, Renessen, a joint venture between Monsanto and Cargill Inc, would set up a pilot plant for converting used grain from ethanol factories into high-lysine, high-protein swine and poultry feed.

Monsanto would develop the seeds while Cargill would design the facility.