Corn - Breeding Goals

The breakthrough in maize breeding came in the 60s with the switch in breeding from open pollination varieties to hybrids. Through hybrid breeding definitive success in all the important traits was achieved. Intensive breeding has also led to a greater differentiation of growth types in the varieties than was possible 10 years ago.

KWS breeds and sells hybrid varieties of different maturity classes for silage and grain use. The conventional methods of maize hybrid breeding form the basis of KWS’s intensive breeding program in Germany and world-wide. Winter breeding nurseries in Puerto Rico and Chile are used to so as to grow more generations in a year, and thereby accelerate the breeding cycle.

Increasingly biotechnological and genetic engineering methods are employed to support variety development and for speedier implementation of important breeding goals. They include:

Molecular markers to fingerprint varieties for variety protection and gene pool allocation, and in marker-supported selection Acceleration of the breeding cycle using haploidy techniques and marker-assisted selection Development of new traits using cell culture technology (within the maize species) and transformation (from other organisms)