Maximizing Corn Yield: The Crucial Role of Pollination in Seed Production
As corn pollination wraps up across the Midwest, it marks a pivotal moment for farmers, seed producers, and breeders alike. Pollination is not just critical for corn ear development and yield potential, but it also serves as the primary mechanism by which corn plants pass along their traits to future generations. The process plays a key role in the production of seed at various levels of the corn value chain:
- Foundation Seed – Self pollinations lock in traits to homozygous parent seed lines.
- Inbred Parent Seed – Seed production planting arrangement and detasseling create hybrid seed corn.
- Hybrid Seed – Open pollination produces grain on over 90M U.S. corn acres.
Inbred corn parent lines are the unsung heroes of hybrid corn production. These lines are an essential component of the hybrid seed production process and supplies farmers seed for planting each year. However, inbred corn plants exhibit inbreeding depression leading to reduced vigor and low yield resulting from multiple generations of inbreeding.
At BioLumic, we are laser-focused on improving the efficiency of seed production through light treatments on inbred seeds. Our aim is to improve stand establishment and boost the yield potential of hybrid seed corn. The results so far have been promising: our Genetic Expression Traits™ have delivered a +7.3% average yield increase across multiple lines with further improvements expected. We’re collaborating closely with Seed Company partners to lock in these performance gains across additional genetics this season.
Hybrids are the workhorses of corn grain production. When two homozygous inbred lines are cross-pollinated, the resulting hybrid exhibits hybrid vigor. This hybrid vigor leads to progeny seed that outperforms its inbred parents. This process underpins modern hybrid corn seed production.
Our next big focus is to explore how the benefits of these light-treated inbred parent lines can pass through to their hybrid seed corn progeny. The scalability of this approach is especially exciting – treating just one acre of inbred seed could influence over 200+ acres of hybrid plants. Marker insights and early phenotypic results from these trials have been encouraging, leading us to expand this work into robust, replicated field studies this season with our Seed Company partners.
At BioLumic, we're committed to pushing the boundaries of what's possible in seed production efficiency and novel trait expression. Our ongoing development and collaborations will continue to shed light on the benefits of Genetic Expression Traits. Stay tuned for more updates as our inbred and hybrid field trials progress.