More, More, More: Historical Improvements to Maize Yields in the United States Dr. David L. Benson AgriPreneur Summit, Kampala, Uganda April 21-22, 2015

Cornhusker Hybrids, LLC Consultation and contract services for maize breeding and seed production Our mission is to help to feed the 9.6 billion people on this planet in 2050 by implementing breeding and hybrid creation strategies that increase the rate of genetic gain in maize.

THREE BASIC GENETIC PHENOMENA IN COMMERCIAL MAIZE BREEDING Inbreeding Depression = and opposite in its effect on the population mean Heterosis – Progeny outperform the average (midpoint) of the parents Additive Genetic Variance – Breeding Value= degree of resemblance between relatives

COMMERCIAL MAIZE BREEDING “The reduction of a complex breeding population to its pure line components permits the identification and reproduction of specific elite hybrids. This is the primary objective of inbreeding in Maize” Hallauer & Miranda 1981

Long Term Maize Yield Improvement in the United States 1880 – 1936 Era of the Open Pollinated Variety 1937 – 1956 Era of the Double Cross Hybrid 1956 – 1995 Era of the Single Cross Hybrid 1996 – 2014 Era of the Genetically Modified Hybrid Era of Abundance

United States Average Maize Yields Year Effects

African Maize Yields vs. The United States

Uganda Maize Area and Production Trends

The Cornhusker Hybrids vision of the year 2050 is one of maize abundance

Ag Robotics: Blazing the Trail to Abundance

Where do we go from here? If maize yields in Africa increased 0.12 metric tons/Hectare each year for the next 36 years, the average yield would increase 4.32 metric tons/Hectare BUT CONSIDER…. If yields increased 0.18 metric tons/Hectare, the average yield would increase 6.48 metric tons/Hectare If yields increased 0.24 metric tons/Hectare, the average yield would increase 8.64 metric tons/Hectare

What will this require? Dramatic increases in investment Continued enhancement and innovation in plant genetics, plant breeding and agricultural sciences and robotics Leveraging of innovation by emerging entrepreneurial Ugandan seed companies

David L. Benson, Ph.D (402)