Posted on July 31, 2013 at 10:00 AM by Iowa Corn
The Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB) has received its first patent based on work in developing a nitrogen utilization trait in corn. The patent, issued January 30, 2013 from the Republic of South Africa, is titled “Plants with improved nitrogen utilization and stress tolerance”.
The purpose of ICPB’s research is to develop traits which will make corn plants more efficient in their use of nitrogen. The goal is to produce more corn with the same amount of fertilizer, or the same amount of corn with less fertilizer. This has yield as well as environmental implications. There is still a lot of work ahead to get this trait thoroughly evaluated in field trials and eventually get it commercialized through seed industry partners. Receiving a patent is just a first, but important, step in accomplishing this objective.
To see a list of ICPB patents, visit www.iowacorn.org/en/research/patents/.
