Drought-tolerant Corn Being Tested in US (MON, DD)
The most severe US drought in more than 50 years is shining a light on new developments in corn seeds that are sure to stir more debate both domestically and overseas about the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to…
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Whether the new seeds will prove successful remains to be seen. DuPont, which tested eight versions of its AquaMax corn seeds last year, said the plants boosted yields by 7%, according to a report in the Washington Post. A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists argues that yields increase about 1% a year with the GMO seeds, about the same amount as a combination of new farming methods and conventionally bred seeds.
Climate change is likely to be cause more frequent and more severe droughts over the next few decades. To feed the more than 7 billion inhabitants of the planet in conditions that seem sure to be considerably different from what they have been in the past may rank next to a shortage of fresh water as the biggest challenge the world faces in this century.
Paul Ausick
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.