Purdue News
Purdue News
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September 18, 1992 Purdue African famine research could aid midwestern farmersWEST LAFAYETTE, IND. – Purdue University is fighting malnutrition in the African countries of Niger and Sudan by developing new drought-resistant strains of sorghum, but corn farmers in the American Midwest may benefit from the research as well. "This is a unique case where the results of our sorghum research overseas will have a tangible impact on the Midwest and the rest of the United States as we use the knowledge and techniques we derive from this research project to develop new varieties of corn," says Gebisa Ejeta, professor of agronomy. Although the American Midwestern states aren't thought of as an arid region, the area does suffer a drought every four to five years that causes a severe water stress in many crops. For example, in 1991, when there were dry conditions in some areas of Indiana, the state's corn harvest was 510 million bushels. This year, when plenty of rain fell, the crop is projected to be 767 million bushels, an increase of 50 percent. After a severe drought, the value of U.S. corn production can drop $6 billion to $8 billion on a national level and can severely cut the net income from corn, says William Uhrig, Purdue professor of agricultural economics. Sorghum isn't grown as a food product in America as it is in many other parts of the world, but it is still an important crop in the United States as a livestock feed. "The Western states would not have a cattle industry without it," says John Axtell, Purdue's Lynn Distinguished Professor of Agronomy and director of the McKnight Foundation research project. Sorghum evolved in central Africa, where water shortages were common. Corn, on the other hand, evolved in Central America, where drought was never a problem and lacks the ability of sorghum to survive severe water stress. By using the technique of genetic engineering, scientists now are able to transfer traits from one plant species to another. "These new genetic techniques open up a whole new ballgame in crop improvement," says Axtell. "The real problem now is deciding what traits you want to transfer now that we have the technology." The Purdue scientists are looking to discover what traits in sorghum give it its drought resistance so they can breed new varieties that make optimum use of these qualities. Already, Ejeta has released 10 new varieties of sorghum to seed companies. According to Ejeta, "Sorghum is a plant that offers dozens of kinds of traits that will be useful for many crops." Axtell says that transferring drought-resistance traits from sorghum to corn is a natural progression. "No other crop is as close to corn as sorghum," Axtell says. "If you wanted to work on drought-resistant corn, you would begin by studying sorghum. Every sorghum line has more drought resistance than any existing line of corn." Sorghum protects itself during drought with a waxy substance on its leaves that reduces water evaporation and is one of the traits sorghum uses to protect itself during dry conditions. "Corn doesn't produce this wax," says Ejeta. "But we have good physiological evidence that a single gene causes wax production. If we were to move this gene into the corn plant and increase drought resistance by just 10 percent, that would mean that many dry years would no longer be considered drought years as far as corn was concerned." "This isn't going to be a quick solution," cautions Jeffrey Bennetzen, professor of biology. "There's no quick fix for a problem as tough as drought resistance. A single gene won't make or break the riddle." The Purdue research is being conducted through a grant from the McKnight Foundation. The foundation grant brings together scientists and graduate students of different fields to work on an international problem. In addition to training new scientists, the McKnight Foundation program brings together scientists in different fields who might not otherwise work together, something that each of the scientists says makes the program stronger. "Having many people in many different disciplines means that research doesn't progress in a linear fashion, but in several different directions, so one single dead end doesn't interrupt the research," Bennetzen says. Contact Purdue News Service (765) 494-2096 or purduenews@purdue.edu NOTE: Black-and-white photographic prints and color slides are available from Purdue News Service, 765-494-2096.
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