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Boise, Idaho
July 17, 2000
Dr. Douglas Plaisted was
recently honored as one of four leading Novartis Seeds scientists
worldwide. Heinz Imhof, President of Novartis Seeds, presented the
Leading Scientist Award to Dr. Plaisted who is the Sweet Corn Project
Leader for Novartis Seeds, Inc., Vegetables.
"Doug has improved
efficiency and accuracy in all aspects of the sweet corn breeding
program," said Imhof. "He and his team incorporated a gene
that expresses the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) protein
into the most disease-resistant and highest-yielding germplasm,
resulting in the commercial introduction of Attribute® sweet
corn." Bt is a naturally occurring soil bacteria that growers
spray on their fields to control certain insects.
ATTRIBUTE® variety GSS
0966, the first insect-tolerant, transgenic vegetable available to
commercial growers, was introduced in 1997. By growing the six
ATTRIBUTE® varieties currently available, growers have been able to
significantly reduce the use of chemical insecticides.
"We’ve been working
on genetically enhanced varieties since 1991, backcrossing and testing
extensively in Idaho, Florida, and Minnesota," said Plaisted.
"When you backcross inbreds, you usually lose some desirable
traits such as flavor or ear type. But I’m pleased to say that in
all cases, the ATTRIBUTE® hybrids offer as good, if not better
quality ears than the originals."
Within the past year
Plaisted and his team have realized yet another achievement with the
successful commercial introduction of the unique TripleSweet™ class
of sweet corn. TripleSweet™ varieties combine the exceptional
tenderness and flavor of homozygous sugary-enhanced types with extra
sweetness and an extended shelf life. This is possible because
TripleSweet’s sugary-enhanced genetics also contain supersweet genes
in 25% of their kernels. Consequently, TripleSweet™ varieties
deliver more consistent, long- lasting sweetness than sugary-enhanced
varieties, even under stress from high temperatures.
The first TripleSweet®
variety introduced in 1999 was Serendipity. Designed for local,
roadside and home garden markets, this 82-day bi-color quickly became
a hit with growers and home gardeners alike.
Serendipity was followed
by a second release from the TripleSweet breeding program, Honey
Select. This yellow, 79-day variety is the recipient of a 2001 All
America Selection® Award.
"We’ve been working
on the TripleSweet® hybrids since I joined the company in 1988,"
said Plaisted. "We had to jump through some hoops along the way,
but the Novartis sweet corn breeding team has realized a unique
achievement with the development of the TripleSweet® line."
From his office in Nampa,
Idaho Plaisted leads a team of ten breeders, assistant breeders, and
technicians at research stations in Florida, Minnesota, and Idaho. The
Florida team focuses on fresh market hybrids for the Southeastern US
and tropical germplasm adaptations. In Minnesota, emphasis is placed
on disease resistance and processing sweet corn variety development.
In Idaho breeders focus on produce and processor quality and seed
production traits.
"Our breeding goal
for both fresh and processing markets is always to achieve the maximum
yield and disease resistance while improving consumer traits such as
sweetness, flavor, and mouth feel," said Plaisted. "Right
now we’re identifying fresh market hybrids that carry resistance to
the new race of rust fungus, Puccinia sorghi that infects corn
with Rp 1-D resistance gene. ROGERS® Brand varieties
BSS 0977, GSS 0951, GSS 0954, GSS 0966 and GSS 0978 appear to carry
effective Rp-genes based on resistant reactions to the new race in our
greenhouse trials this winter. Several other hybrids with effective
individual or compound Rp-genes should be available in a year or two
because several advanced breeding lines have these genes for
resistance."
Building on a history as
the industry’s largest supplier of processor sweet corn seed with
such industry standards such as Supersweet Jubilee, Plaisted and his
research team are selecting inbreds with enhanced tenderness,
sweetness, and resistance to all major sweet corn diseases. "We’re
particularly interested in germplasm that offers resistance to MDM,
rust, Northern and Southern Corn leaf blight, and Stewart’s
wilt."
Congratulating Plaisted on
his award, the Vice President of Research for Novartis Seeds,
Vegetables, Dr. Leon Hansen praised his achievements.
"Since 1991, under
Doug’s supervision, the sweet corn breeding program has released 48
commercially successful hybrids. By improving efficiency in all
aspects of the program and working closely with his team, the crop
business manager, and Novartis sweet corn customers, Doug has
developed a unique understanding of both the commercial fresh market
and processing sweet corn market requirements. His award was richly
deserved."
Novartis Seeds, Inc. --
Vegetables is a leading U.S. agriculture and research company based in
Boise, Idaho, that develops value-added genetics, and produces and
markets vegetable and melon seed under the ROGERS® brand. It is
affiliated with Novartis Seeds AG, a worldwide seed company, and part
of Novartis. Novartis is a world leader in healthcare with core
businesses in pharmaceuticals, consumer health, generics, eye-care,
and animal health. In 1999, the Group (including Agribusiness)
achieved sales of USD 21.7 billion and invested more than USD 2.8
billion in R&D. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis
employs about 82,400 people and operates in over 140 countries around
the world. The Group recently announced plans to spin off its Crop
Protection and Seeds sectors and to merge them with the agrochemicals
business of AstraZeneca in the second half of 2000.
Company news release
N2890 |
