b'S T R A T E G Yhybridization methods used towe look at restoring and havemodeling a decade ago, sterilize and restore the femaledone a lot of work with that.wheat prices were higher. parent.Getting the male restorerCommodity prices are weaker, Chemical hybridizationhas been a significant break- 1962 which has affected the com-(CH) is a method that hasthrough from our side. Thatwas when the first describedpetitiveness of hybrid wheat. been used for more than 30has helped us when we haveworkable cytoplasmic maleAt four-dollar per bushel, years when most groups wereidentified the genes that westerile, nuclear restorationhybrid wheat is not as attrac-using it, Morano explains.know we need to get intosystem was reported. tive as it is at $7. Yet, farmers We were using it 10 yearsthose males and get themhave to live with $4 wheat at ago as a starting point, butrestored. So yes, it is a huge,times. Syngenta is working to now we have gone to cyto- huge thing. And once again,make sure its a viable product plasmic male sterility (CMS), ait was just one of those things$4 at four dollarsnon-destructive non-chemicalthat have never been identi-a bushel is the price of wheatWheat, at times, is method. With CMS we canfied. Our restoring side hastoday, in comparison to itsplanted on marginal ground. sterilize the female and thencome a long way. The firstprevious $7 a bushel. Consistency in a wheat field use restorer genes to bringtime you do something new, itcan be very variable. Hybrid that female back around whenjust takes longer, even in plantwheat likes stress; it has its time for seed production.breeding. a competitive advantage The hybridization processesThe third major issue with20%compared to varietal wheat and the technologies that wethe commercialization ofis the amount of calories andunder stress. We have been have today have really made ahybrid wheat is production.protein provided by wheatvery pleasantly surprised with big difference. With that beingWheat does not reproduceglobally.the improved consistency of said, we do not ever discountfrom itself. A seed producerhybrid wheat. We need to the learnings gained fromhas to basically start everyhave a consistent 10 to 12% the old days of hybrid wheatnew cycle with a sterile femaleyield advantage, but we are development. You alwayswhich is then crossed ontoa premium price for a bagstriving for a 15% advantage learn from those things. a male that restores it. Thatof hybrid seed and yet getover anything else on the process has to happen everya strong return on his dollar.market. We also need consist-Male Restorers and Seedyear. With between 45 andSyngenta is 75-80% of theency with the quality traits. Production 50 million acres of wheat inway there. They have identi- We are finding very positive Using male restorers in corn isthe United States planted atfied some processes that areresults when you use a male much simpler than in wheat.a relatively high seeding rate,helping. Syngenta has fourand a female that have good The difference is wheatsperhaps there is the potentiallarge hybrid wheat seed pro- attributes agronomically or genome is much larger andfor an enormous amount ofduction fields to be harvestedgood attributes for quality, we more complex, which hasseed. in 2021.seem to hold or even improve made getting the male restor- Hybrid seed production isWe are learning everythose attributes. That is ers for wheat an issue.a laborious and high-cost pro- year and getting better, butanother positive. So yes, there We have identified certaincess. A majority of Syngentaswe still have a way to go,are many positives that hybrid restored genes, and weveR&D time is now being spentstates Morano. If the marketswheat will bring to wheat been able to figure out howperfecting hybrid seed pro- would add a few dollars toproducers. After 30 years of to stack those genes on topduction. It is essential to keepthe price of wheat, that wouldresearch, we are on the verge of one another. We are usingproduction costs where it issuddenly look much better. of becoming an overnight suc-a multiple-gene system whenfeasible for a farmer to payWhen Syngenta was doingcess. SWENDORSED BY 62/ SEEDWORLD.COMJANUARY 2021'