Thousand Oaks, California
April 13, 2009
Energy crop company
Ceres, Inc. announced today
that it will work with University
of Georgia researchers to develop new high-yielding
switchgrass seed varieties and improved crop management
techniques for the southeastern United States. Switchgrass,
which can reach yields of 6 to10 dry tons or more in the
Southeast, is widely considered an ideal raw material for
next-generation biofuels and biopower.
The multi-year project will bring together plant breeders,
agronomists and support scientists at Ceres and the University
of Georgia to develop improved seed varieties. Field researchers
will also evaluate cropping practices in the Southeast, adapting
developments made by The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, an
Oklahoma-based agricultural research institution with which
Ceres has a long-term product development collaboration.
“This project allows us to expand our internal and collaborative
plant breeding activities in a region where we believe the
industry will have a strong presence,” said Ceres plant breeding
director Jeff Gwyn, Ph.D. He noted that University of Georgia
has experienced researchers and a well-regarded collection of
switchgrass breeding materials and germplasm — the precursors of
commercial seed varieties. “There’s a lot of headroom for
improvement and I’m confident that working together we can
continue to drive up yields at a robust pace,” he said.
Plant breeder Charles Brummer, Ph.D., University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, said that
regionally focused research will be valuable for growers across
the region since Georgia and the Southeast have a unique set of
environmental factors, owing to their long growing season and
high rainfall.
“By trialing and selecting new products in the middle of their
target market, we can make greater gains more quickly and with
greater certainty,” Brummer said. He noted that in addition to
selecting higher-yielding plants, researchers will examine
seeding rates, row spacing and no-till planting recommendations,
and other crop management practices.
Ceres will have commercialization rights for products developed
under the Ceres-funded project. The Noble Foundation will also
participate in the project, including both field research and
switchgrass breeding lines. Other aspects of the collaboration
were not disclosed.
In December, Ceres launched the first switchgrass and sorghum
varieties developed for bioenergy, which are sold under the
company’s Blade Energy Crops (www.BladeEnergy.com) label. Ceres
has established the largest field-trial network for dedicated
energy crops in the United States, including more than a dozen
leading universities and institutions.
Ceres, Inc. is a leading developer and marketer of
high-yielding energy crops that can be planted as raw materials
for cellulosic ethanol production and biopower. Its development
efforts cover switchgrass, sorghum, miscanthus, energycane and
short-rotation woody crops. The plant breeding and biotechnology
company markets its seed under its Blade Energy Crops brand.
Ceres holds one of the world’s largest proprietary collections
of fully sequenced plant genes.
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