« Alcoa and Yutong Bus Co. Enter Bus Partnership; Light-Weight Prototypes Targeted for Beijing Olympics | Main | UK Government to Provide £20M for Low Carbon Vehicle Research »
DuPont Introduces Soybean Varieties with Increased Yields of Up To 12%
21 September 2007
DuPont is commercializing soybean varieties developed using a technology that increases yields by as much as 12% per acre. DuPont seed business Pioneer Hi-Bred is introducing five varieties with the technology for 2008 planting, pending wide-area product advancement trial results.
Enhanced yield is one of the attributes of what Steve Howell, Technical Director of the National Biodiesel Board, calls “second-generation biodiesel”—biodiesel crops optimized for crop yield, oil yield, and oil properties as determined by the specific fatty acid alkyl ester content that are optimized for fuel.
The DuPont technology—Accelerated Yield Technology (AYT)—uses proprietary molecular breeding techniques to rapidly scan and identify genes that increase yield and then incorporate them into elite soybean genetics.
Until now, molecular breeding techniques used by the seed industry have only produced single-gene defensive traits in commercial varieties. There are multiple genes in complex networks that determine the final yield level achieved. AYT builds upon DuPont molecular breeding techniques by allowing researchers to simultaneously select multiple genes to significantly boost yields. AYT is not transgenic so soybeans developed from this process are not subject to additional regulatory approvals.
The first AYT varieties are higher yielding versions of the newest Pioneer elite soybean genetics. Pending final trial results this fall, Pioneer hopes to introduce an AYT version of Pioneer brand 94M80, which set the world record soybean yield of 139 bushels per acre in 2006. New unique genetics are also being developed using AYT and other molecular breeding techniques.
Full implementation of AYT combined with molecular breeding technologies will enable Pioneer to make a new class of soybeans that has unprecedented yield potential relative to anything we have ever seen. These technologies allow us to incorporate a complete package of offensive and defensive characteristics that could make 100-plus bushel soybean yields a common occurrence in the very near future.
—William S. Niebur, vice president DuPont Crop Genetics Research and Development
Separately, DuPont also announced a pledge of $1 million to the Iowa State University (ISU) New Century Farm, the first research effort in the United States to focus on producing cellulosic ethanol on the farm. The research efforts also will focus on enhancing the production, processing and utilization of feedstocks for biofuels and biomaterials.
September 21, 2007 in Biodiesel | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/22062/21811659
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference DuPont Introduces Soybean Varieties with Increased Yields of Up To 12%:
Comments
When tomatoes were optimised for storage and handling they tasted like plastic. No mention of fertiliser requirement, even a nitrogen fixer like soybean needs a start dose. I'd suggest that instead of maximising yields with standard inputs that it would be better to maintain yields with less water and fertiliser.
The next step would be reduce the acreage given over to cattle. In future years a meat meal won't be a T-bone steak but a soy burger with a few grams of meat. As a side benefit at least you will have some biofuel for your car when there is no more petroleum.
Posted by: Aussie | Sep 21, 2007 3:21:16 PM
2nd Generation Biodiesel is synthetic oil using agriculture waste, not beans.
Posted by: Ben | Sep 21, 2007 3:59:08 PM
true, but improving on the first generation biofuels over the short term doesn't take anything away from that. Why not continue to tweak them?
Posted by: Angelo | Sep 21, 2007 5:08:10 PM
And anger those anti-GMO people against biofuels? ,
Posted by: Ben | Sep 21, 2007 5:16:48 PM
12% higher yield.
Gee, sure hope that counteracts the dramatic negative impacts caused by soybeans. (It doesn't)
http://greyfalcon.net/lcarough7.png
http://greyfalcon.net/n2o.png
http://greyfalcon.net/n2ostudy.png
http://greyfalcon.net/soy
http://greyfalcon.net/soy2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgcE8czaMR4
_____
==2nd Generation Biodiesel is synthetic oil using agriculture waste, not beans.==
"Agricultural wastes" don't exist.
http://greyfalcon.net/peaksoil
Posted by: GreyFlcn | Sep 23, 2007 1:25:32 PM
