Plot tour features century of innovation

JOHNSTON, Iowa — A thousand years here, a thousand years there, there’s some debate as to the origins of modern-day corn hybrids.

A popular theory for decades is that maize was domesticated from a single wild grass — teosinte — in the lowlands of southwest Mexico about 9,000 to 10,000 years ago.

However, research led by the University of California, Davis, archeologists and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences geneticists and published in 2023 indicates all modern maize descends from a hybrid created just over 5,000 years ago from a second teosinte that grows in central Mexico.

By the time Christopher Columbus reached the “New World” in 1492, corn was already cultivated throughout North America and South America and essential to the diet of Native Americans.

Origin theories vary, but the end result began when ancient corn breeders practiced selective breeding techniques by saving seed from plants of designated traits and replanting the seeds for the next growing season.

Fast-forward over 100 years ago, Henry A. Wallace’s interest in science and agriculture led to experimenting with hybridization to develop a corn variety with higher yield.

The result was Copper Cross, the first-ever commercial hybrid corn in the Midwest. Copper Cross earned the gold medal in the Iowa Corn Yield Contest in 1924, and Wallace founded what would become Pioneer two years later.

During the annual Corteva Media Day, hybrids that played important roles in Pioneer’s 100-year history were growing in plots across from the seed company’s headquarters.

Dave Bubeck, Corteva Agriscience research director and Global Breeding Alliances lead, led a tour of the plots highlighting the following historic hybrids:

1924-1945: Hybrid Innovation Era

1924 — Copper Cross: Created in Johnston, Iowa, by Henry A. Wallace, Pioneer founder, was the first successful commercial single-cross hybrid.

Characteristics: Copper Cross was a cross between two inbred open-pollinated varieties, Leaming and Bloody Butcher. The hybrid had better plant uniformity than open-pollinated varieties.

The U.S. corn yield in 1924 was 22.1 bushels per acre.

1936 — Pioneer 307: Its performance in the Dust Bowl conditions of 1936 led to rapid adoption of hybrid corn. Less than 10% of Iowa acres were planted with hybrids in 1942. 307 had the longest-tenured hybrid in 100-year history with over 500,000 units were sold.

Characteristics: Well adapted to various soil types and locations and built a reputation for producing reliably high yields.

U.S. corn yields in 1936 averaged 18.6 bushels per acre.

1946-1985: Golden Age of Crop Science Era

1953 — 354: Solidified Pioneer’s place as an industry leader and built Pioneer’s reputation for innovative, high-performing hybrid corn varieties. Over 500,000 bagged units were sold during its lifetime.

Characteristics: Performed well across variety of soil types and had excellent pick ability with mechanical harvesters, strong disease tolerance and excellent standability.

The average U.S. corn yield in 1953 was 40.7 bushels per acre.

1971 — 3780: Popularity with farmers contributed to rapid market share gains for Pioneer. 3780 remained the leading seller in the Pioneer lineup until 1982. It was named the most impactful hybrid for the past 25 years by Farm Industry News in 1992.

Characteristics: Superior performance and fast dry-down, strong stalks and roots that reduced harvest losses.

U.S. corn yield in 1971 averaged 88.1 bushels per acre.

1986-2010: Biotech Boom Era

1991 — 3394: Largest-selling hybrid in Pioneer history. In 1994, it outsold the entire hybrid lineups of all competitor seed companies.

Characteristics: High yield potential and wide adoptability, consistent yields across diverse environments. 3394 was susceptible to gray leaf spot.

The average U.S. corn yield in 1991 was 108.6 bushels per acre.

2008 — 33W84: Triple stack of above-ground and below-ground insect protection and herbicide tolerance. It also featured insect protection from Herculex XTRA technology and had high total fermentable ethanol hybrid.

Characteristics: Highly suited for early planted and corn-on-corn acres and provided exceptional plant health.

U.S. corn yield in 2008 averaged 153.3 bushels per acre.

2011-Present: Advanced Breeding and Beyond Era

2013 — P1151AM: Optimum AQUAmax product. Developed using whole genome DNA markers and predictive modeling and featured advantages under drought conditions and no yield penalty under favorable conditions. It was the top seller from 2013 to 2015 and remained in top 3 through 2018.

Characteristics: High yield potential, exceptional drought tolerance, with reliable late-season stalk strength.

The average U.S. corn yield in 2013 was 160.4 bushels per acre.

2023 — P14830: Family of products that set a new record of 623.84 bushels per acre in 2023 by David Hula, of Charles City, Virginia. P14830 was used in more 300-bushel per acre entries in the 2023 and 2024 National Corn Growers Association yield contests than any other family of hybrids.

Characteristics: The hybrid has strong roots and stalk strength and has good drought tolerance and grain dry down.

The average U.S. corn yield in 2023 was 177.3 bushels per acre.

2024 — PO5737PCE: PowerCore Enlist hybrid, bringing more yield, above-ground pest protection and flexibility to the market. The hybrid features single-bag integrated refuge solution with multiple modes of action for above-ground insects.

Characteristics: PO5737PCE has strong stalks and roots and high-yielding performance across environments.

2024 — P13777V: Vorceed Enlist corn hybrid, bringing more yield, protection and flexibility to the market. Built on DP4114 breeding event for a wider selection of germplasm and has a single-bag integrated refuge solution with multiple modes of action for above- and below-ground insects. The hybrid has tolerance for four herbicide active ingredients — 2,4-D choline, FOPS, glyphosate and glufosinate.

Characteristics: Industry-leading yield performance, solid agronomics with above-ground roots and stalks and above-average stay-green with excellent tar spot resistance.

U.S. corn yields in 2024 averaged 179.3.

2026 and beyond: Future trait launches anticipated include: yield and yield stability trait; third-generation above-ground, below-ground traits; multidisease-resistant trait; and reduced-stature corn.