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Drought Tolerant Corn
Drought tolerant corn hybrids are corn varieties that can handle drought and heat stress better than a conventional corn hybrid. Usually, they are used in the western states, like Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. The purpose of these varieties is to have the same amount of yield potential as conventional hybrids with less moisture. This is crucial in those western states because rainfall is minimal. Over the years, data has shown that on average, the western states receive about twenty inches of rain per year. This is close to a fifteen to twenty inch on average difference than the eastern states like Illinois and Indiana, which can make growing crops difficult.

Drought tolerant corn is one of the new seed corn technologies introduced for public use recently. 2012 was the public launch for both Monsanto’s Genuity DroughtGard Hybrids and Dupont Pioneer’s Optimum AQUAmax. 2012 was a very dry year throughout the United States. The subsoil was completely dry due to the drought. These corn varieties were put to the test the first year of launch with these conditions. Though the purpose of these hybrids is the same, the methods of producing them is very different.

In some instances, drought tolerant corn can be related to genetically modified crops. Monsanto uses genetic engineering and breeding to produce their drought corn. Pioneer and Syngenta corn varieties are created through advanced breeding. Drought tolerant corn hybrids can be made in the fields or in a lab. Both of them are used for the same purpose – yield the most it can while being efficient. According to a National Geographic Article, “After a limited launch in 2011, AQUAmax corn is now grown on seven million acres across the United States. In DuPont Pioneer’s field tests, which consisted of 11,000 side-by-side comparisons of corn varieties, AQUAmax yields were 8.9 percent greater than the next best commercially available variety of corn in drought conditions”. Plots at Texas A&M University had similar results from their plots.

Texas A&M Research
Dr. Qingwu Xue is a Texas A&M AgriLife Research crop stress physiologist who worked with drought tolerant corn hybrids. In 2012, Texas had six inches of rain. That is approximately a third of the average rainfall. The test crop was planted at three different plant populations and three different irrigation levels were used. The three irrigation levels included 24 inches, 18 inches, and 13 inches of rain. Yields were similar for both the drought tolerant corn and the conventional corn at 24 inches of artificial rain. In the plants that received either 13 or 18 inches, the drought tolerant corn outperformed the conventional corn varieties by up to 20 bushels per acre in spots of the field.

Methods of Creation
Drought tolerant corn has been made two different ways – genetic engineering and hybridization. Monsanto’s Genuity DroughtGard corn is created in a laboratory using genetic engineering. Pioneer’s Optimum AQUAmax and Syngenta’s Agrisure Artesian corn hybrids are made in the test fields using advanced hybridization. In ideal weather, with adequate water, corn uses it regularly to grow. In a drought year, that conventional corn will use rainwater at the same rate, leaving the soil depleted before it has grown fully. With drought tolerant corn hybrids, the corn plants notice there is not an abundance of water to use. This allows them to slow the rate of water use and growth. This in turn, saves water for the future.

Hybridization
Optimum® AQUAmax hybrids from DuPont Pioneer and Agrisure Artesian hybrids from Syngenta were commercially available last year. When it comes to Pioneer hybrids, the creation of AQUAmax hybrids is very advanced. Researchers take little punches from the corn leaves and study the DNA, testing which amino acids naturally had a tolerance to drought. After creating many hybrids, only the best genotypes were planted out in fields for testing. The research for these varieties is very advanced, even though genetically modified organisms are absent in them. With no additional genes from an outside source, the process for AQUAmax hybrids is all natural. The same type of technology is used in Syngenta’s Agrisure Artesian corn hybrids. No transgenes are used.

Genetic Engineering
The other way to create drought tolerant corn is by genetic engineering. This is the method that Monsanto uses to produce their drought tolerant corn. Finding the right genes for the corn took more than a few years. The gene inserted in this corn comes from a common bacterium. It is called cold shock protein B from the bacterium, Bacillus subtilis. This gene, also known as cspB, allows the corn plant to adjust to the stress of decreased rainfall and assist in minimizing the plant’s defense reaction to heat. This will slow down the plant's production rate and slow the water use. Bacillus subtilis is ubiquitous; it can be found everywhere. The cold shock protein is used in bacteria when it gets too cold so it keeps reproducing. It works the same way when it is warm. If the climate becomes too hot, the protein will assist with having it keep producing. According to Chandler Mazour, the director of Monsanto’s Water Utilization Learning Center, “As the corn plant experiences water stress, it slows down its water use and saves it for future use. We call that Hydro-efficient.” The term hydro-efficient comes from the company Genuity. The drought tolerant trait is put to use when there is drought stress; it allows the plant to alter its use of water in the soil more efficiently. Because of this, more water is available on in later growth stages of the plant.

Launch of DroughtGard
Monsanto Genuity DroughtGard hybrids had a limited launch in 2012. This launch included about 250 farmers located in the Great Plains. Farmers planted a majority of their acreage with DroughtGard Hybrids. These on-farm trials are known as Ground Breakers. The reason only farmers in the Western Great Plains planted it is because it is usually the most dry in those states. Trials were planted in South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. Acres planted in DroughtGard hybrids was nearly 10,000 acres. That is where the hybrids will have the most challenging climate. Yields in the Western Great Plains are considerably lower than the United States average. Average U.S. yields are about 150 bushels per acre. The dryland acres in the Great Plains yield on average in between 70 and 130 bushels per acre.

Hybrids on the Market
According to Monsanto’s website, there are five drought tolerant corn hybrids available to farmers. These hybrids range in maturity from 97 day to 115 day. In 2013, at a media event in Johnston, Iowa, Dupont Pioneer introduced 22 new drought tolerant corn hybrids. This doubled the number of hybrids on the market from the year before. According to the same article. The amount of acres planted with AQUAmax tripled from 2012 to 2013.