Webinar: Corn Breeding for Organic Markets

This webinar took place on April 10th, 2019. Click here to view the webinar!

About the Webinar

This webinar will explore how different breeding styles and methods can be used to develop corn varieties that meet the diverse needs of organically produced grain and perform well under a variety of growing conditions and farming practices. Martin Bohn, Maize geneticist at U of I, will discuss G.H. Shull’s approach to hybrid breeding and share how the University’s elite parent lines can efficiently be used to develop food-grade corn hybrids for organic markets. Walter Goldstein, Executive Director of the Mandaamin Institute, will explain how for over a decade, he has bred corn under organic conditions to develop high-methionine and nitrogen use efficient hybrids and populations for organic feed markets. Bill Davison, Extension Educator at the U of I, will explain how modern genetics and breeding techniques can be used to create productive open pollinated synthetic and composite populations that are capable of adapting to unpredictable environmental changes and novel stress factors. These populations are being improved annually using participatory breeding techniques where farmers and researchers are working together to select for improved agronomics and quality traits. The webinar will last about an hour, followed by 30 minutes for questions.