DuPont launches non-transgenic high yield soybean varieties

DuPont announced it is commercializing soybean varieties developed using molecular breeding technology that increases yields by as much as 12 percent per acre. DuPont seed business Pioneer Hi-Bred is introducing five varieties with the technology for 2008 planting, pending wide-area product advancement trial results. Molecular breeding is a new way of plant breeding that allows much better and faster selection of elite plants, without the need for genetically modifying them.

The company officially launches one of the three soybean yield traits from its pipeline to commercial status. It will be commercially known as 'Accelerated Yield Technology' (AYT). AYT uses proprietary molecular breeding techniques to rapidly scan and identify genes that increase yield and then incorporate them into elite soybean genetics.

AYT allows us to take a giant step forward on our promise to deliver industry-leading improvements in soybeans. Our customers are seeing dramatic increases in Pioneer soybean variety yields that have never been seen in such a short period of time. This technology embodies our business philosophy to increase the productivity and profitability of our customers to help them meet the rising demand for food, feed, fuel and materials. - William S. Niebur, vice president DuPont Crop Genetics Research and Development.

Until now, molecular breeding techniques used by the seed industry have only produced single-gene defensive traits in commercial varieties. There are multiple genes in complex networks that determine the final yield level achieved. AYT builds upon DuPont industry-leading molecular breeding techniques by allowing researchers to simultaneously select multiple genes to significantly boost yields. AYT is not transgenic so soybeans developed from this process are not subject to additional regulatory approvals.

The first AYT varieties are higher yielding versions of the newest Pioneer elite soybean genetics. Pending final trial results this fall, Pioneer hopes to introduce an AYT version of Pioneer brand 94M80, which set the world record soybean yield of 139 bushels per acre (9.3 tons per hectare) in 2006. New unique genetics are also being developed using AYT and other molecular breeding techniques:
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Full implementation of AYT combined with molecular breeding technologies will enable Pioneer to make a new class of soybeans that has unprecedented yield potential relative to anything we have ever seen. These technologies allow us to incorporate a complete package of offensive and defensive characteristics that could make 100-plus bushel soybean yields a common occurrence in the very near future. - William S. Niebur

Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont Leaving Pioneer.com business, is the world's leading source of customized solutions for farmers, livestock producers and grain and oilseed processors. With headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa, Pioneer provides access to advanced plant genetics in nearly 70 countries.

Soybean is the world's largest oilseed crop, with a production of around 32 million tons of oil (2005), a 30% market share of the vegetable oil market. Major producers are the US, Argentina, Brasil and China. Soybeans contain around 20% of oil, which is increasingly used for the production of biodiesel.