Bill Niebur, vice president – DuPont Crop Genetics Research and Development, spoke yesterday at the grower conference, “Maize and Water Synergy,” in Bordeaux, France.
He told participants that an integrated approach to plant breeding, product positioning and agronomic management is key to developing drought-tolerant crops, which will play a major role in sustainably increasing agricultural productivity.
“Plant breeding today combines elite genetics with a matrix of technologies to accelerate the rate of yield gain,” Bill said. “Modern biotechnology provides plant breeders with powerful tools to increase productivity for farmers on a truly global scale, while local research allows us to understand the challenges and opportunities in individual environments.”
The event, hosted by Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business, brought farmers from across France together to discuss how product choices and agronomic knowledge are critical to increasing maize productivity while effectively managing and preserving water resources.
“A growing challenge is to produce more food with fewer resources as population and demand for agricultural products increases,” Bill said. “We must utilize all the tools and technologies available to us to meet this demand in a way that works within the earth’s means.”
Pioneer began breeding for drought tolerance more than 50 years ago to maximize productivity in water stress conditions. The program continues today with focus on two product development initiatives:
- The Drought I initiative leverages native drought genes to deliver significant improvements in yield and return on investment for drought-prone areas.
- The Drought II initiative integrates transgenic and molecular breeding approaches into the most elite and adapted germplasm to protect maize yields during drought conditions in all environments.
The Maize and Water Synergy conference shared Pioneer’s agronomy expertise in maize growing and water use to help French maize farmers increase profitability while limiting water use. Irrigation accounts for approximately one third of total annual water consumption in France. France produces more than 14 million metric tons (15.4 million U.S. tons) of maize each year.
