December 12, 2006

Biotech seeds may double US corn yields by 2030

Biotechnology advancements in seed could double US corn yields by 2030, reaching a national average yield of 300 bushels per acre.

Within the last few years, farming of GM crop varieties has increased in US agriculture among crops such as corn, with the result that average yields in prime corn-belt states like Iowa could jump to 350 bushels per acre from 163 in 2006, according to a seed researcher. The USDA estimated the average US 2006-corn yield at 151.2 bushels per acre.

The rise in corn output, besides meeting the increased demand from the ethanol sector, could provide an edge over alternatives such as switchgrass.

A study of the first wave of GM corn crops that was planted about a decade ago, revealed that the advances would result from molecular breeding technology. The latter speeds the rate at which plant researchers produce new varieties, said Monsanto's vice president of global plant breeding Ted Crosbie.

The grain industry's familiarity with producing, storing and transporting corn gives it an advantage as an ethanol feedstock. While plants like switchgrass do provide an alternative for biofuels, they have not been widely produced as crops.

Corn could be stored for a long time and was also relatively inexpensive to do so, said Crosbie.

Ethanol demand in the US could more than double by 2012 to 11.2 billion gallons a year, exceeding the 7.5-billion gallon requirement under a US energy law, per Federal Energy Information Administration report.