October 11, 2010

Syngenta makes new drought-resistant corn hybrids for Asia

Syngenta AG, a global crop protection and seed-making company, is developing new drought-resistant corn hybrids for the Asian market, to boost the region's output, company executives said Friday (Oct 8).

Syngenta has developed heat-tolerant hybrids of corn for the US, and its plant breeders there are working with their Asian counterparts to try to transfer those traits to corn varieties grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions, Alejandro Aruffo, the company's head of global research and development, said.

Syngenta has identified naturally-occuring genes that can help resist drought in corn grown in the temperate region, and plans to introduce them into the germoplasm of tropical corn varieties, Manny Logrono, Syngenta's head for field-crop product development for Asia Pacific, said.

He said the new corn hybrids for the farmlands of Asia may be developed within the next three years.