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Purdue issues short-stature corn license

Short-stature popcorn developed by Purdue University researchers is getting closer to commercialization.

An exclusive license for the non-GMO trait, called D16, has been issued by Purdue Innovates Office of Technology Commercialization to Romney-based Ag Alumni Seed.

President and CEO Jay Hulbert tells Brownfield they have been working with researchers at their facility for nearly 10 years to develop the technology.

“We are currently making experimental crosses at our nursery in Argentina which we will be testing this summer here in Indiana,” he says.

Hulbert says shorter corn is less likely to fall over which can cause quality issues in a food-grade crop and could offer a yield advantage.

“Most of the time you just get one ear of corn on the plant,” he says.  “If you can have more plants per acre, you can theoretically have more ears and higher yield.”

He says the company plans to evaluate hybrids over the next few years before releasing the seed to growers.