Agribusiness DuPont has unveiled a new laser technology that the company says would transform seed research and considerably speed up the development of higher yielding corn and soy varieties.

 

DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred introduced Laser-Assisted Seed Selection to farmers attending the Farm Progress Show.

 

The technology uses a 120-watt carbon dioxide laser to score a small slice from a seed to capture its genetic information while maintaining the seed's viability for planting.

 

Currently, scientists had to evaluate plants in the field and select genetics based solely upon their physical characteristics. Physical analysis of plants took years of field trials, thousands of hours and acres of plantings prior to development of a commercial hybrid.

 

Recent discoveries show that genetic samples could be gathered from seeds before planting, but the methods of collection through scraping from a blade were rudimentary.

 

Laser-Assisted Seed Selection perfects the technique because it eliminates contamination, ensures seed viability and has much higher throughput than other kernel chipping or clipping methods, Dupont said. Laser-Assisted Seed Selection equipment is also compact and mobile, allowing Pioneer to deploy the technology at research stations around the world.

 

Laser Assisted Selection would be the newest tool in the company's Accelerated Yield Technology (AYT) toolbox, which includes molecular breeding.

 

Molecular breeding techniques are used to identify desirable genetic combinations within each individual scored seed slice. Seeds identified to have superior genetics are selected for planting and advancement through the Pioneer research programme.

 

The company hopes the technology would increase the size and scope of its Pioneer breeding programme five fold in the next three years.

 

Laser-assisted selection would also intensify the impact of the company's other AYT technologies by enabling the rapid selection of the best genetics for advancement before they leave the lab, said William S. Niebur, vice resident - DuPont Crop Genetics Research and Development.

 

The programme is actually a collection of proprietary processes that includes precise magnetic-based orientation of the seed, laser scoring, seed and slice collection, advanced seed selection and planting.

 

Pioneer has numerous patents pending for the technology and will be using it on millions of corn and soy seeds by the end of 2009.

 

The vast phenotypic points of data Pioneer researchers have collected over the years have made AYT a reality, Niebur said, adding that with AYT tools like Laser-Assisted Seed Selection, the company could breed higher yielding products much faster than before.