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Nitrogen gene commercialization still a ways off
Commercialization of a nitrogen efficiency gene for corn, developed by the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, is still several years away.
That according to Iowa Corn technology commercialization manager David Ertl. Ertl says they’re in the process of out-licensing the technology to seed companies.
“Even if it is something they want to commercialize they still have to go through the regulatory approval process,” Ertl says. “So between the hybrid development time, testing and regulatory approval, you’re probably talking at least six or seven years minimum.”
Ertl says there are two objectives to their research with the gene—either to increase yield without increasing the amount of nitrogen fertilizer used to grow corn or to obtain the same yield with less fertilizer.
“The trait doesn’t necessarily do anything to pull more nitrogen from the soil in to the plant,” he says, “but what it does is it changes the nitrogen metabolism within the plant to hopefully be more efficient in using the nitrogen once it’s in the plant.”
Iowa Corn recently received a U.S. patent on the nitrogen gene. The technology was developed in collaboration with private technology firms.
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