Drought Tolerant Corn

Drought Tolerant Corn

Several years ago, seed companies started visiting with local growers telling them that hybrids with increased drought tolerance will be introduced into the marketplace. Now, products are being tested by companies in Midwest farm fields.

Monsanto and DuPont are the companies that are bringing these new products to the market. They are looking at the use of these products in drier climates such as Kansas and Nebraska. This will reduce the cost of irrigation in those areas.

In Missouri, there are typically areas of drought. However, the last two years have been wetter than normal. Droughty soils located on eroded hillsides derived from glacial till, sandy soils along with those which have rooting restrictions can all impact corn yields during dry seasons. These are areas which potentially these products can improve corn yields.

There are other questions as these products move into the marketplace? How will these new corn hybrids perform without drought? Will increased populations of drought tolerant hybrids increase yields without dry conditions?

The Extension Service will know more when companies release products to the Universities to test. These new products seem to be tightly guarded by companies without any University testing at this point.

As we look to the future, there seems like a lot of un-knowns. How will the expansion of the corn market affect the use for corn? What will be the impact on corn prices and what will be the cost of these new products? What will be the impact of yields for area growers?

Agricultural technology continues to increase yields and continues to feed the world. It’s an exciting time to be in the field of agriculture and look forward to the future.

For more information, contact Wayne Flanary at 660-446-3724 or Heather Benedict at 660-425-6434, Regional Agronomists, University of Missouri Extension.