The traditional approach for creating stacked hybrids has been through breeding. A gene gun has typically been used to insert individual traits into separate plants, and then the plants have been crossbred to produce a new hybrid containing the multiple traits.

VecTran utilizes a cleaner, more natural agrobacterium-mediated insertion process. Two or more genes containing the desired traits are delivered through a single insertion process into the plant chromosome, on which optimal performance of the stacked traits is achieved. The result is a stacked-trait hybrid with a highly active and more consistent promoter of the rootworm protection gene, which is more effectively distributed throughout the root system.

This will mean that farmers will get stacked-trait hybrids with improved consistency, with even better insect control and higher yield potential than current YieldGard Plus products on the market and because corn breeders can bypass the traditional breeding process for producing stacks, farmers can get hybrids from Bio Gene Seeds containing elite germplasm with better, higher-yielding traits six to 12 months faster."

Field trials are proving that Bio Gene Seeds hybrids with YieldGard VT Triple technology are performing under actual field conditions. In 2005, 30,000 roots were dug comparing YieldGard VT Triple roots against the industry-standard YieldGard Plus brands. The results proved that YieldGard VT Triple hybrids consistently scored better in root ratings than first-generation YieldGard Plus hybrids.

Bio Gene Seeds is developing a variety of new YieldGard VT Triple hybrids that growers can expect to see over the next several years, including YieldGard VT Triple Pro™, now being tested in regulated field trials, which is a stacked combination of YieldGard VT Rootworm/RR2 plus new second-generation YieldGard Corn Borer.

Last season, hybrids protected with the YieldGard Plus corn technology had bigger, healthier root systems than conventional corn protected with soil insecticides, which resulted in an average 10.9 bushel-per-acre-yield advantage across the Midwest.

YieldGard Plus achieved a 15-bushel yield advantage compared with corn protected with insecticides under the severe drought conditions experienced in Illinois last season. In addition, a significant number of growers in the extreme drought areas of Illinois experienced performance advantages in excess of 35 bushels per acre with YieldGard Plus.