From a North Carolina State University press release,
Growers of organic crops will get some much needed help as plant breeders at North Carolina State University launch an effort to develop corn, peanut, soybean and wheat varieties adapted to being grown organically.
A $1.2 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant will fund the effort at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at N.C. State. The conventional breeding will focus on developing varieties with the traits growers need to be successful. Soybean breeding will likely focus on developing varieties better able to compete with weeds. Resistance to seedling diseases, diseases that attack the plant just after seeds germinate, will be important in peanuts. Peanut growers treat their seeds with pesticide before planting, but that option isn’t open to organic growers.
Corn breeding will focus on preventing contamination, or cross pollination, with genetically modified corn. Pollen from fields in which genetically modified corn is grown can drift on the wind for several miles and end up cross pollinating corn in a field where organic corn is grown.
Corn that contains what are known as gametophytic genes cannot be pollinated by non-gametophytic corn types. Breeding efforts will focus on developing organic corn varieties with gametophytic genes.
To read the complete press release, click HERE.
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