Trait Stacking Opens Up World of Possibilities for Plant Breeding

Apr 04, 2023

Trait stacking can help with everything from nutrition to weed control in the plant breeding world.

Trait stacking isn’t a new technology when it comes to plant breeding. But with new technologies such as gene editing, it has opened a whole new world for trait stacking and is allowing those in the agriculture industry to build upon the trait stacking work they’ve been doing for decades already.

“With the introduction of Roundup Ready soybeans, we’ve seen multiple stacks, especially over the last 10 or 15 years, of different herbicide (resistant traits) to help combat some of the more problematic weed issues,” Jeremy Ross, professor and soybean extension agronomist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service, says during the March 29 episode of Seed Speaks. “Without those traits being stacked, we wouldn’t be able to control some of these more problematic weeds.”

And while for farmers disease, pest and weed resistance, along with yield may be the most important traits for them, consumers have other traits they’re interested in. Michael Dzakovich, a research plant physiologist with the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, works at the Children’s Nutrition Research Center and sees nutritional opportunities.

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Video: Not only is corn getting sweatier, it's getting smarter

Over the past several weeks, much of the U.S. Midwest has experienced prolonged episodes of extreme heat, a trend also observed in other major corn-producing regions of North America such as eastern South Dakota, southern Ontario, and parts of Kansas and Missouri. These high-temperature events can place significant physiological stress on maize (Zea mays L.), which is cultivated on approximately 90 million acres across the United States, with leading production in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Like all maize, Bayer’s PRECEON™ Smart Corn System is subject to transpiration-driven water loss under high heat. However, this system incorporates agronomic traits designed to improve standability through enhanced stalk strength, thereby reducing lodging risk during stress conditions. Furthermore, the system supports precision agriculture practices by enabling more targeted fertilizer and crop protection applications. This approach not only helps to optimize input efficiency but also contributes to maintaining or increasing yield potential under variable environmental stresses such as heat waves, which are becoming more frequent in corn belt and fringe production regions.