Year Awarded 2021
FFAR award amount $2,044,214
Total award amount $4,089,857
Location Ames, IA
Matching Funders Iowa State University, Bayer Crop Science, The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Purdue University and Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Grantee Institution Iowa State University
Maize breeding programs have increased corn yields over the years by altering plant characteristics (traits). Yet, our knowledge on which traits have been changed is limited while their impact on sustainability is relatively unknown. Led by Dr. Sotirios Archontoulis, Iowa State University researchers are examining corn hybrid characteristics at an unprecedented scale to analyze yield trends in the U.S. Corn Belt, which includes most of the Midwest.