From Roots to Shoots: Maximizing Corn Performance with Genetic Expression Traits

As our corn plots enter the late vegetative stage, it’s time to get our hands dirty and delve into how Genetic Expression Traits are influencing plant biomass performance in the field. Let’s dig in and see what’s really growing on!

Young corn plants, equipped with Genetic Expression Traits, have reached the ideal vegetative stage for above and below ground biomass sampling. These data points are excellent early-season indicators of crop performance and predictors of season-end productivity gains, including yield and quality. Additionally, they are paired with genetic marker data to enhance Light Signal Platform targeting for trait expression.

Stored biomass samples ready for processing

Working alongside our CRO partners, our Agronomy team is extracting nearly fifteen thousand young plants from trial plots across the Midwest US, separating them into their below-ground and above-ground components – roots and shoots – before drying down the plant biomass.

Root and shoot dry weights provide an early look into Seedling Vigor and Root Growth, two critical indicators for the Stand Establishment trait. These datapoints offer early insights into end-of-season productivity, as increased biomass accumulation typically correlates with higher yields at harvest. Furthermore, evaluating the root-to-shoot ratio – an increased proportion of root biomass compared to above-ground growth – helps us understand the crop nutrient and water use efficiency. Each indicator informs us on how effectively the plants are using inputs, impacting both grower profitability and sustainability metrics.

Even at this early stage, biomass samples reveal key value drivers, including plant composition for crop quality. Specific plant samples are submitted to the lab to analyze key nutrient proportions. Nutrient accumulation data from plant tissue provides insights into how efficiently plants absorb nutrients from the soil. This efficiency contributes to increased plant growth and grain fill, resulting in higher kernel weight and quality, which is crucial for marketability.

In previous years, early-season biomass sampling has been instrumental in understanding the underlying factors driving yield and quality gains across soybean, inbred corn, and hybrid corn. These data points offer insightful clues into the performance of Genetic Expression Traits™ curated for individual crop cultivars, further advancing the Light Treatment Platform performance across cultivars and crops.

Beyond valuable agronomic insights, these data points are paired with genetic marker data to correlate gene expression with trait response. The Light Signal platform employs data-driven algorithms to optimize the best-fit light recipe for curated traits (yield, root growth, crop quality, etc.) for each cultivar provided by our seed company partners.

Learn more about Genetic Expression Traits for seed companies on our row crop page here, or reach out directly: bd@biolumic.com