b'INSIDERSCORN, SORGHUM AND OILSEEDSOvercoming Climate Change with Genetic DiversitySERGII UKRAINETSCorn Technical ManagerSouth-East countriesLideaOne of the most widely used food andsowing and maturity. We also can pro- small number of rows or kernels. feed crops is maize (Zea mays L.).duce Silage hybrids that are suitable forThe combination of different traits of Over the past century, the continu- animal feed, and Gritz hybrids for humanfield corn, such as Flint and Dent, can be ous improvement of the genetics of cornconsumption. In temperate zones, Flintused to improve the performance of corn has led to a remarkable increase in itscorn often matures earlier, germinateshybrids adapting to climate change. For productivity. Today, the products of thisbetter, and has more spring vigor andinstance, by blending different traits, we plant are very different from their previ- fewer prop roots than dent strains. can select a variety of hybrid corn that ous generation. Due to the developmentDent corn has a pronounced depres- has high yield and drought resistance. of new traits, such as disease tolerancesion or dent at the crown of the kernels.Lidea created a specific group of and stress tolerance, the yield potentialThe kernels contain a hard form of starchhybrids called Tropical dent. This group of this crop has increased.at the sides and a soft type in the center.has a distinctive dent and flint corn agro-Due to the increasing importance ofThis latter starch shrinks as the kernelnomic characteristics. It allowed farm-climate change, many farmers are nowripens resulting in terminal depression.ers in northern regions to get access to looking for ways to adapt their agricul- Dent varieties vary in kernel shape fromhigh-yielding corn hybrids that are ideal ture to this environmental phenomenon.long and narrow to wide and shallow. Dentfor early sowing and maturity. They also One of the most important factors thatcorn mostly has high performance, but lesshave a resistance to cold stress and fast they need to consider is the availability ofresistance to cold stress. The Flint corndry-down. high-quality hybrid varieties. Lidea has amostly has a thick, hard, vitreous (glassy)Due to the lack of rainfall and high wide range of these types of hybrids thator corneous endosperm layer surroundingtemperatures, the regions farmers have can meet their diverse needs. a small, soft granular center, varying ina hard time adapting to climate change. Through the use of Flint genetics,different varieties. Generally, the kernelsLideas development trials network allows Lidea can provide Northern countriesare smooth and rounded, and the ears arethe company to provide its customers with hybrid crops that are ideal for earlylong and slender with a comparativelywith more effective and efficient options.TURF AND FORAGEHere are the Forages to Hold onto in the FutureCHRISTIAN S. JENSENHead of BiotechDLFThe hot and dry weather that strokeimpacted by drought. Their paddocksryegrass in both years.Europe this summer affected crop pro- consisted of mixtures containing tallThe trend in weather conditions we duction in most other countries. Perhaps,fescue-type Festuloliums and either redhave seen over the past 15 years speaks forage production in UK and Ireland wereclover or herbs, such as chicory. As a gen- an undeniable message: Drought is likely more fiercely struck than others becauseeral picture, product managers acrossto be more the rule than an exception. these islands are so used to frequentEurope unanimously reported that mul- What does damage control look like in showers that very few are equipped withti-species mixtures performed signifi- this future: First, multi-species mixtures irrigation systems for pastures. In con- cantly better than any type of straights. are one of the best means to insure more sequence, several cuts missed out com- If we look at mainland Europe, tes- outcome under drought. Second, where pletely, leaving farmers with no othertimonials from farmers and consultantsperennial ryegrass used to be the prime choice but to start feeding from theirsay that alfalfa did really well, benefit- component, festuloliums or PLUS grasses, winter rations.ting both from many sun hours and notas we call them, are standing in line to It did not make it better that thereally minding the high temperatures.be promoted. Their deep roots provide predominant forage species used in UKThe same is true for cocksfoot and toa strong countermeasure against spring and Ireland are perennial ryegrass andsome extent also tall fescue although itsdrought and the ordeals of this summer white clover. Neither of them performedperformance seemed to vary substan- proved that they also pose above-ground convincingly in any country affectedtially between areas. In terms of yield,features to battle later drought spells. this summer. It is said that one incidentItalian ryegrass outperformed perennialSeveral varieties come with feeding seldom comes alone, and in this case,ryegrass by several miles. This observa- quality at least on par with perennial drought was followed by record-break- tion concurs with observations research- ryegrasses. Next step will be to improve ing temperatures. While this truly wasers did in the root- and drought screeningdrought tolerance of perennial ryegrass an additional stress factor, it may havefacility, RadiMax, over a two-year exper- and perhaps also the forage quality of prevented pastures from being eradicatediment. Under drought, Italian ryegrasscocksfoot.because it forced the crops to go dormant. produced significantly higher biomass Onlyafewfarmerswerelessand deep root growth than perennial 20IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM'