Study finds corn genes for higher yields, stronger crops

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  A new study of corn has identified gene variations for yield increases, drought tolerance and aflatoxin resistance.

  From WATTAgNet:
  A new study of corn has identified gene variations for yield increases, drought tolerance and aflatoxin resistance.
  The study, "Genome Wide Association Study for Drought, Aflatoxin Resistance, and Important Agronomic Traits of Maize Hybrids in the Sub-Tropics," was conducted by Texas A&M’s AgriLife Research and published in PLOS ONE, an international, peer-reviewed, open-access, online publication.
  The study included the growing years of 2011, a drought year, and 2012, and was conducted on dryland and irrigated corn in College Station, Texas, and in Mississippi, all with similar results, said Dr. Seth Murray, an AgriLife Research corn breeder in the soil and crop science department of Texas A&M University at College Station.
  Murray said that all corn seed available to growers in Texas comes from commercial breeding conducted in the Midwest. As a result, there's been no significant increase in corn yields in Texas for many years.
  Murray designed this study to see if there was a genetic reason, possibly the use of Midwest-temperate rather than sub-tropical genetics, limiting production.
  "The idea is if it is bred in the best conditions in the Midwest, it should survive in the not-so-good conditions we see here in Texas," he said. "So we believe the private breeders for the commercial industry are trying to do the best for most producers, just not our producers. There has not been an effort to develop corn that addresses the unique needs of southern locations, especially not in the way they have for the Midwest."