Year Awarded 2024
FFAR award amount $1,950,000
Total award amount $4,050,000
Location Washington, D.C.
Matching Funders Bayer, KWS, United Soybean Board
Grantee Institution Wageningen University & Research
Although hybrid seeds outperform their parents in yield, this advantage does not transfer to the hybrids’ offspring. Breeders must continually cross-pollinate to develop the next generation of hybrids. Because soybeans reproduce through self-pollination, the structure of the soybean flower makes cross-pollination difficult and expensive. The ApoSoy project seeks to develop a cost-effective hybrid soybean system through a process called apomixis, which creates seeds that are genetic clones of the parent.