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BUCKLER LAB
CERCA: Cold Tolerance
Goal: Making Better Use of Spring and Fall
Using the full growing season maximizes yield and farm-level nitrogen efficiency.
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Improve photosynthetic efficiency under cool spring
temperatures. -
Enhance frost tolerance.
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Improve germination in cool soils.
Broad yield gains can be achieved by planting in early to mid April in Iowa.
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Earlier planting makes use of natural nitrogen available in the soil in spring, and reduces losses.
Like winter wheat, many species have cold tolerance. We are learning about the mechanisms to transfer them to corn.
Corn has lots of wild relatives with these traits. Genomics and AI are helping us discover them.
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