2025’s record-breaking 17-billion-bushel U.S. corn crop reinforced the shift happening in the conversation around corn genetics.
Yes, yield remains king. But increasingly, resilience is defining performance.
Last season put genetics to the test. Across much of the country, ample rainfall brought intense disease pressure including tar spot, Southern rust and northern corn leaf blight. Strong storms led to brittle snap and wet lodging. Meanwhile, in other regions, pockets of dryness added a whole different layer of stress.
So what comes next?
In the exclusive interview above, Seed World caught up with Jim Bueltel, Licensing Portfolio Lead for Corn at Corteva Agriscience, to talk about what licensees observed in 2025, and what growers should expect to see in their fields in 2026 and beyond.
The discussion explores:
- Why disease tolerance and emergence are becoming baseline expectations
- How large-scale testing across diverse yield environments supports product stability
- The role predictive data plays in advancing new hybrids
- What gene editing could unlock in the next five to 10 years
- How multi-disease resistance and next-generation insect control are evolving
- Why yield stability is becoming as critical as top-end performance
As environmental variability increases, the focus needs to be about maintaining performance under pressure, Bueltel asserts. That’s why the future of corn genetics may be less about a single breakthrough trait and more about stacking resilience, stability and adaptability into every acre.
