Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 24

Syngenta researchers are pioneering hybrid wheat varieties for commercial release in a new greenhouse in Junction City, Kan.

See more photos from the Syngenta research site in Junction City, Kan.
BEST PRACTICES

SEEDS

Growing With the Grain
Syngenta uses innovative breeding methods to create new wheat hybrids.
By Stephanie Murray

ith an eye on the future, Syngenta continues to expand its leadership position in the world of wheat breeding by using innovative technology platforms, such as genetic-marker and doubled-haploid (DH) technologies, to advance trait discovery. Syngenta, which has the largest wheat breeding program in North America, recently expanded its Junction City, Kan., research site to include an advanced hybrid wheat greenhouse alongside a DH laboratory. Set amid acres of field test plots and rolling farmland, the new Junction City greenhouse currently houses some of the first-ever hybrid wheat varieties that Syngenta is developing for commercial release. Studies show that hybrid wheat has the potential to produce greater yields than pure-line varieties. “We believe hybrid wheat can offer growers yield stability and consistent performance, particularly across fields with “Growers produce variable soil types and qualities,” nearly half a says Dustan Ridder, a Syngenta billion acres of hybrid wheat breeder at the wheat around the Junction City site. “By the end of world, but it is not this decade, we expect to have as technologically hybrid wheat available to growers.” advanced as other The worldwide reach of Syngenta crops like corn will help it accomplish this goal, says and soybeans. Norm Dreger, the North American We’re working to head of Cereals at Syngenta. He change that.” notes that the company is drawing —NORM DREGER on its experiences developing hybrid

W

barley in Europe to achieve the same success with hybrid wheat in North America. Greater Volume of Varieties Meanwhile, Syngenta continues to expand its broad portfolio of wheat varieties through more traditional breeding techniques—with a high-tech twist. “Globally, we see a huge opportunity for growth in the cereals market,” says Dreger. “Growers produce nearly half a billion acres of wheat around the world, but it is not as technologically advanced as other crops like corn and soybeans. We’re working to change that.” Since 2000, Syngenta has tripled its investments in marker and DH technologies in the U.S. The company is the first to market a Pacific Northwest wheat variety developed through DH breeding—a process that cuts the breeding cycle nearly in half, from 10 to 12 years down to 6 to 7 years. Normally, when breeders cross two wheat lines, the generations of seed that follow are different until they stabilize and produce desired traits. With DH breeding, the plants stabilize more quickly, allowing breeders to save valuable time in selecting for traits. “We are also leading the industry with our deep breeding technology toolbox, which includes marker-assisted recurrent selection, native trait stacks, hybridization and biotechnology,” says Rollie Sears, Ph.D., senior science and technology fellow at Syngenta. “Growers are already seeing the benefits of this effort with 13 new wheat varieties introduced in 2012 and 19 more in pre-commercial trials.”

22 · thrive · 1Q /13

PHOTOS: MATTNICHOLS.COM



Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013

Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 1
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 2
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 3
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 4
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 5
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 6
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 7
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 8
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 9
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 10
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 11
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 12
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 13
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 14
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 15
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 16
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 17
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 18
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 19
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 20
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 21
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 22
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 23
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 24
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 25
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 26
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 27
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 28
Syngenta Thrive - 1Q/2013 - 29
https://www.nxtbook.com/syngenta/Thrive_Flipbooks/4th_Qtr_2012_FINAL
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com