Show Notes
In this episode, we’re going to dive even deeper into the science and behind making reduced stature corn a reality. Plant physiologist Jeff Habben has been with Corteva Agriscience for about 30 years and has developed a tremendous depth of knowledge and expertise about how corn and soybean plants grow, develop and function. “ Hormones are very powerful molecules, and so what you can do is that you can develop bioassays that look at the level of hormones or how the hormones are sensed in plants. That's how we learned about how gibberellins, for example, can affect plant heights…The trick is that these hormones just don't control one thing. They control many different things in the plant. And the other part too is that these hormones interact with each other. So you need to know not just a specific hormone that you're interested in, but how they interact too. So it makes it very complex.” - Jeff Habben
Southwest Iowa farmer John Becker farms about 2,000 acres and has also been a Pioneer sales representative since 2009. As both a farmer and a seed rep, Becker understands better than most that when it comes to genetics, one size does not fit all and everything comes with its own risks and rewards. Together, our two guests walk us through the decision making and process in introducing and developing new varieties. “ I mean it's no different than a stock portfolio when you look at your lineup for seed. Every single product has risks and rewards. We're excited as all get out because we have a lineup that has many, many less risks than we have had in the past… But my job is to individually work with every single customer and make sure that we put together a plan. It's my job to make sure that I know every single operational need. Everybody wants yield, but some people are more risk takers than others.” - John Becker
Some takeaways from this episode include:
The approach John Becker takes to help evaluate risk and potential rewards with producers in his area. The complex process Jeff Habben must use to evaluate hormone activity and its reaction in the plant growing process The future is bright with producers, agronomists and scientists working together to solve problems on the farm to meet consumers needs
Agriscience Explained is brought to you by Corteva Agriscience and hosted by Tim Hammerich. This show is produced by Clint Pilcher, Rayda Krell and Ann Leonard. Jaime Hammerich and Grant Bolton edit these podcasts, and the music was composed by Dmitri Volkov. Subscribe for more Agriscience Explained: From Science to Solutions.
More from Agriscience Explained
Please send us your feedback on the podcast: [email protected] In this episode, we look back on the past 100 years, and highlight what will carry over into this next chapter in the company’s history. Corteva Agriscience chief technology and digital officer Sam Eathington and some really special guests discuss the past, present and future of agriscience innovation.
Dr. Carla Yerkes joins us to help us tell the story of Rinskor and explain the process of herbicide innovation and the persistence and creativity it takes to develop new solutions for farmers. Yerkes is a research biologist at Corteva Agriscience and has a Ph.D. in herbicide physiology. She has spent about half of her 30 year career in herbicide discovery research and the other half in herbicide trait discovery.
What is happening in agriscience today that we will be talking about 100 years from now? While it’s impossible to answer that question with certainty, there is a technology that has the potential to impact our industry in the next century as much or even more than hybridization changed the game over the past century. That technology is genome editing. The promise of this technology is very real and today you’re going to hear firsthand accounts of what changed in 2012 and 2013 to make all of this possible, what did it look like to test the technology in plant breeding, and what does the strategy look like to turn this science into better solutions.
In today’s episode, we’re following a molecule around the world, from being discovered in Japan to being developed in the United States to becoming a solution for farmers in the United Kingdom. Joining us is one of those farmers in the UK, Julian Gibbons. Julian has seen a variety of fungicide solutions come and go for important wheat diseases like Septoria tritici, or speckled leaf blotch. He’s really excited about the potential for a relatively newly registered product derived from a natural compound called Inatreq Active™. And the story of the need for Inatreq and the road to getting this product to farmers is the focus of today’s episode.
We celebrate the 100th year anniversary of Pioneer Seeds, and take a look back at the history of hybridization. The process may seem simple: to take two varieties or even species and cross them together to create more desirable offspring. But the concept of controlled hybridization, intentionally transferring pollen from a chosen male parent to a chosen female parent, is relatively new in the history of agriculture. But it has been nothing short of revolutionary.