Corn into the Future – Emerging corn applications and technology
The world isn’t getting any larger. There is a finite amount of land that can be used to grow crops. Meanwhile, the world population is always increasing. The World Bank predicts population to grow by 3 billion people in the next 40 years, and that means there’s going to be a lot more mouths to feed resulting in a higher demand for corn and other grain commodities. This presents a problem. Essentially more food needs to be produced on the same amount acreage in order to meet growing demand. Increases in crop yields are necessary to prevent global starvation. This issue is not new to the world. The problem of increasing demand for grain commodities has been around for some time. Up to this point there have been some fantastic advances in technology that have resulted in increased yields, but the technological advancements must continue.
There are a number of natural occurring problems that effect yields of the grain commodities. These include weather, pests, weeds, and soil nutrition.
One of the first major advancements in crop protection was the invention of herbicides. Herbicides are used to kill unwanted weeds. Glyphosate is the most popular herbicide used in the U.S. with over 100 million pounds utilized on a yearly basis. To make sure that the glyphosate didn’t kill the corn along with the weeds, genetically modified (GM) corn resistant to the herbicide was created. Another problem effecting yields are pests. Some of the pests that effect corn yields include rootworms, borers, cutworms, grubs and maggots. GM corn has been developed in order to combat these unwanted pests with resistances beginning as soon as the seeds are planted.
GM crops are a large reason for increases in yields up to this point. From 1986/87 to 2007/08, average yields for corn have increased by 40%. Combine that with a 26% increase in hectares planted means the world is now producing 76% more corn than it did 20 years ago. Every bit of the growth was needed as consumption over the same period increased by nearly 70%. Growth in corn breeding technology has allowed production to keep up with the growing demand.
There has been less progress in the development of grain commodities genetically modified to better withstand weather and soil nutrition issues. There are currently a couple of GM breeds of corn in the process of development. A drought resistant strand of corn is currently in late developmental stages. The technology is based on the notion that corn metabolism slows and eventually stop when it no longer receives water. The drought resistant strand of corn is being genetically modified to limit metabolic shut down during drought periods. Corn is also being bred to maximize roots absorption of nutrition in soil. This will not only increase yields, but it will also allow for corn planting in areas otherwise impossible.
Advancements in GM grain commodities have come a long way, but progress must still be made. A large focus in the creation of GM crops at this point is the combination of traits in different GM crops. Looking beyond that, improvements in how GM crops are researched is resulting in faster technological growth. In 2008, the first plant breeding test facility that accelerates crop growth was opened. These facilities take years off the research time required to produce GM grain commodities. All of these advancements in technology will be necessary to continue the growth in crop yields in order to feed the world’s growing demand.
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(yield/acreage stats provided by USDA FAS World Corn and Barley: Supply and Demand chart)
