CornAGRILIFETODAY, FLICKRAgribusiness giant Monsanto is finding out that it's difficult to conduct field trials of drought-resistant corn when it won't stop raining. The company hopes to launch a new line of corn seed that's been genetically engineered to thrive in drought conditions by 2013, with plans to distribute it royalty-free to impoverished African farmers. But rainy summers since 2008 in the US western Plains, where Monsanto is conducting field trials of the seed, have muddied results. "We had about three good years where we could do field trials in Kansas. It was nice and dry," Monsanto regulatory affairs manager Bill Reeves told the Des Moines Register. "And then it started raining."
Drought-tolerant corn trials underwater
Agribusiness giant Monsanto is finding out that it's difficult to conduct field trials of drought-resistant corn when it won't stop raining. The company hopes to launch a new line of corn seed that's been genetically engineered to thrive in drough conditions by 2013.
Bob Grant
From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer.
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Bob Grant
From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer.View full profile
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