2012
LOGAN COU
N
TY FARM OUTLOOK MAGAZINE. LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com October 23, 2012
13
on to improve drought tolerance include root
growth to enable uptake of moisture from a
larger area, and aggressive silk growth in order
to be better pollinated (corn silk is mostly water
as well). It’s the combination of all these traits
that will provide an estimated 7 percent yield
increase or 10-bushel yield increase under
drought conditions, as put forth by a couple of
companies working in this area.
Other work is being done to limit the effects
of drought as well, including a waxy covering
on leaves, either bred into the plants or applied
as a spray. This technology may limit yields in
years when drought is not an issue.
For those I’ve intrigued with the
immunization statement, there is considerable
work being done in pharmaculture.
This is particularly of interest in Third
World countries where refrigeration is
at a premium and administration of a
vaccine is also hard to come by. Initial
work has been done with tomatoes,
bananas and apples to some degree.
Included are hepatitis B vaccination
and E. coli antibody introduction. This
is something that is on the horizon but
holds great promise for use in some
areas of the world.
[
John Fulton]
John Fulton is the U of
I extension director for
Logan, Menard and Sangamon Counties.