b'ON A BRIGHTafternoon in an Illinois corn field, members of the local African diaspora community got a taste of home, while organic corn farmers got a glimpse at future innovation. Chris Mujjabi, a graduate student and research assistant in the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) Department ofChris Mujjabi, UIUC Crop Sciences, hosted the unique Kasooli Party, named aftergraduate student and the Luganda word for white maize. research assistant.Chris connected the white corn and new hybrids with the African community here in the Midwest, UIUC crop sciences professor says. They came to the field day and were able to eat the corn. Thats a cultural connection that we want to nourish. Designing a Corn System That Works for EveryoneThat bridge between crop production and consumers is reflected in the model used by the Illinois Organic team, with UIUC assistant professor of natural resources and environmental sciences Carmen Ugarte at the helm. Carmen Ugarte, UIUC We want to create a cropping system thats very integrated,assistant professor of she says.natural resources and Ugarte collaboratively works with the breeding team to iden- environmental tify traits that can strengthen and support crop production whilesciences.balancing environmental concerns. This approach highlights the connection between crop genetic diversity and soil health. In my role as a soil ecologist, I investigate how cultural prac-tices influence the diversity functions and services provided by soils, Ugarte says.In turn, a healthy and diverse soil agroecosystem can helpOur project was really looking to expand the genetic base support important soil functions, including water and nutri- of organic maize in the Midwest and in general, using lines from ent use efficiency, accrual of soil organic matter and biologicaldifferent parts of the world. We had planned to include a section control.of the exotic materials in our nursery as part of a demonstration Genetic diversity also gives different plants different rootingand observation block for farmers during our annual field day characteristics and from the perspective of the soil, we hope toMujjabi says. achieve a point where the crop might take from the soil only asIn addition to Kitale, Mujjabi selected various OP varie-much as it contributes in return, Ugarte says. ties such as Hickory River, Smiley Silage, Misener OPV, Bloody The Illinois Organic Team group also includes the farmers inButcher, Rainbow, Mandan White Flint, Silver King, Mandan Red the participatory model. Farmers provide feedback to the team,Flour, White Waxy 4x, Highland Horsetooth, Boone County creating a loop that ultimately includes consumers as well. White, Hopi Blue Corn, Rainbow Flint, Mandan Red, Hickory King All of the work we do is important, but it wouldnt be impor- and others. tant if no one is using the grains produced in this region. From theKitale Synthetic II was a key open-pollinated variety (OPV) beginning of our collaborative efforts, we sought to connect thedeveloped in Kenya in the 1950s and then later crossed with a breeding component all the way to the consumers. That is why wedifferent line in Ecuador to create the first high-yielding hybrid continue researching; to understand how a change in the develop- in Kenya, providing a near 40% increase compared to the other ment of a hybrid along with soil management conditions couldOPVs they were growing at that time in the area.influence the overall quality of the produced grain, Ugarte says. I hadnt known about Kitale Synthetic II beforehand, only that the name sounded Ugandan or African, which immediately Banking on DiversityLiterallycaught my attention, Mujjabi says. After doing some research, Mujjabis Kasooli party success was made possible by a chanceI realized it had played a significant role in the history of maize discovery in a seed bank. Kitale Synthetic II is just one examplebreeding and production across Africa. That discovery moti-of the genetic treasures stored in seed banks worldwide. In 2019,vated me to continue working with it, with hopes of introgress-Mujjabi was digging through decades of preserved germplasming some of the traits that made it so impactful into our current with the hopes of finding something special. maize improvement efforts.JANUARY 2026SEEDWORLD.COM /27'