Expands use of pollination-on-demand technology for U.S. corn seed production
JOHNSTON, IOWA (PRWEB) APRIL 23, 2020
Corteva Agriscience, (NYSE: CTVA), and PowerPollen®, an Iowa-based ag tech company that developed the first and only scalable pollination technology for commodity crops, today announced a commercial agreement expanding the use of pollination-on-demand technology, enabling increased flexibility and productivity for Corteva’s commercial corn seed production.
As part of the agreement, Corteva will license the on-demand pollination technology and gain access to PowerPollen’s prescriptive pollination expertise and algorithms that inform producers of the optimal pollination timing to increase seed yield, purity and quality.
“Over several decades, scientific advancements have improved agricultural productivity, but the challenges associated with pollination have remained largely unsolved. Based on in-field testing, we believe PowerPollen’s technology will further enable us to produce high-quality seed for our farmers and improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of modern farming practices,” said Neal Gutterson, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Corteva Agriscience.
PowerPollen will be responsible for collecting, preserving and applying pollen leveraging its patented technology, which uses custom designed tools and preservation methods built to scale for commercial operations.
“Preserving and applying pollen at the optimal time to enable the production of a hybrid provides flexibility and efficiencies never before achieved in production agriculture. Corteva is the ideal collaborator to help us accelerate our commercialization strategy,” said Dr. Todd Krone, co-founder and CEO of PowerPollen. “Since launching PowerPollen five years ago, we’ve refined our preservation technology to extend the window of pollination from a few hours to more than six months.”
The ability to preserve pollen enables product innovation across a wider variety of hybrids, increasing genetic diversity and in-season decision making.
The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
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About Corteva Agriscience
Corteva Agriscience is a publicly traded, global pure-play agriculture company that provides farmers around the world with the most complete portfolio in the industry – including a balanced and diverse mix of seed, crop protection and digital solutions focused on maximizing productivity to enhance yield and profitability. With some of the most recognized brands in agriculture and an industry-leading product and technology pipeline well positioned to drive growth, the company is committed to working with stakeholders throughout the food system as it fulfills its promise to enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. Corteva Agriscience became an independent public company on June 1, 2019 and was previously the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont. More information can be found at http://www.corteva.com. Follow Corteva on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitterand YouTube.
About PowerPollen®
PowerPollen, an Iowa-based agtech company, offers a breakthrough, scalable technology to collect, preserve and apply pollen on-demand to help improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of modern farming practices. Following multiple seasons of year-round field trials, PowerPollen’s patented pollination technology increased yield by as much as 44% in commercial hybrid corn seed production fields. The company has successfully applied its technology across 1000s of commercial acres over the past several years. PowerPollen is headquartered in Iowa with additional research operations in Puerto Rico and Texas. Visit https://powerpollen.com/ for more information, or follow PowerPollen on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Based on in-field testing, we believe PowerPollen’s technology will further enable us to produce high-quality seed for our farmers and improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of modern farming practices.
