Today (Dec. 13), DuPont Pioneer introduced 54 of its highest yielding line of soybeans to-date, the A-Series, and 53 new top-yielding corn products.
Available for 2017 planting, the soybean varieties range from maturity Groups 000 to 7 across North America, and the corn varieties range from 72 to 118 comparative relative maturity and features 29 new genetic platforms.
In 2016 on-farm Pioneer IMPACT test plots, these soybean varieties produced an average yield advantage of 2.3 bushels per acre against 10,000 comparisons of elite competitors at 400 locations, according to the company.
Furthermore, Pioneer conducted nearly 1,100 corn IMPACT plot trials during 2016 to understand the right fit for new products across a wide range of geographies and growing conditions.
“This is a historic milestone for Pioneer,” says Steve Reno, vice president and business director for U.S. and Canada. “This new soybean line is producing unprecedented step-change improvements in yields. A-Series will help soybean growers achieve higher yields no matter what their yield goal.”
The Pioneer brand A-Series lineup has a broad range of trait options. The North America soybean line consists of more than 30 varieties with Roundup Ready 2 Xtend technology, 11 glyphosate tolerant varieties, a Pioneer brand Plenish high oleic soybean variety plus conventional, LibertyLink and DuPont STS varieties. The letter “A” will be part of the Pioneer brand soybean variety names to help growers easily identify the new high-yielding lines.
Pioneer announced in July 2016 it had deployed a new breeding technology called Accelerated Yield Technology 4.0 (AYT 4.0) across its entire soybean breeding program. The technology has more than doubled the rate of genetic gain of its soybean pipeline and cut the time it takes to bring new products to market. The majority of the A-Series soybean varieties were developed with AYT 4.0.
New product corn highlights include:
- A robust set of new Pioneer brand Optimum AQUAmax products, thoroughly tested in targeted environments to perform rain or shine
- Expanded end-use options for yellow food corn, white corn, and conventional (non-GMO) markets
- High-performance brown midrib (BMR) and silage corn products that deliver tonnage, starch, and high digestibility, along with strong agronomics
“Adding these new advancements to the existing commercial lineup of Pioneer brand products means we now offer one of the broadest, most genetically diverse, and high-yielding corn lineups in our history,” says Matt Smalley, DuPont Pioneer research director, North America Maize Product Development.
Pioneer prides itself on conducting intense local trials for developing new corn and soybean varieties.
“Pioneer leads the industry in testing our products and understanding how they perform locally on grower’s farms,” Reno says. “It’s the bedrock of our customer-focused approach and builds confidence in product performance.”
