(DTN) Growers are waiting for the arrival of more drought-tolerant hybrids. Contemporary hybrids already exhibit greater drought tolerance then their predecessors did a decade or two ago. What's in the wings will surpass what we have available today, but growers will have to wait a while longer.

Pioneer and competitors Monsanto and Syngenta are developing both natural and transgenic hybrids that will change the playing field in how corn performs in dryland and drought conditions. Syngenta will release a limited number of its Artesian hybrids in 2011.

To reach the 300 bushel-per-acre goal by 2030, corn will have to tolerate drought a lot better then it does today and yields need to be more consistent year after year and across acre after acre. Better drought tolerance will increase yields of dryland corn and give more growers the confidence to grow corn in more water-limited environments. When that happens, more acres of winter wheat could go to corn.

On a DuPont-sponsored media call, Pioneer Hi-Bred announced the availability of Optimum AQUAmax (OAM) hybrids as soon as 2012. OAM hybrids belong to a new generation of hybrids that deliver a consistent yield advantage in water-limited (drought) environments.

Monica Patterson, Pioneer senior marketing manager, said these hybrids offer new options for growers seeking improved yields under drought stress. The performance of these hybrids has been widely validated through on-farm and research testing in water-limited environments concentrated in the Western Corn Belt.

Jeff Schussler, Pioneer senior research manager, maize stress product development, emphasized that Pioneer is using its extensive hybrid testing network throughout major maize production areas to validate the performance of hybrids first identified in these managed, stressed environments. "Improved stability of yield under drought stress combined with yield parity under optimum conditions is the goal," Schussler said.

Optimum AQUAmax hybrids perform equally to commercial checks under optimal conditions, he said.

But don't expect significant jumps in yield immediately. Patterson explained that in Pioneer trials, the first releases displayed a 5 percent yield advantage over other leading contemporary competitors and Pioneer hybrids.

If you are producing 100-bushel corn in arid parts of the Corn Belt, that is only five bushels. That might not seem like much, but at $5 a bushel, it's an extra $25 per acre. However, the goal is improved yield stability under drought stress combined with yield parity (compared to other varieties) under optimum conditions.

Patterson explained that OAM hybrids in the pipeline offer a yield advantage for growers in chronic water-limited environments. "But for those (growers) in areas that aren't prone to chronic drought stress, the OAM trait offers the same impressive yield potential to those customers they've come to expect from leading Pioneer genetics," Patterson said.

Monsanto is also on track with its drought-tolerant hybrids following much the same methods as Pioneer, using both breeding and traits to improve drought tolerance.

Speaking at a media event, Steve Padgett, vice president of technology with Monsanto, said Monsanto has been doing a lot of field testing of its first transgenic drought trait. However, the lack of drought stress in 2009 and 2010 slowed evaluation. Like Pioneer, Monsanto is measuring only a 5 percent to 10 percent increase in yield in the Western Corn Belt.

Pioneer Hi-Bred will sell its seeds under the Optimum AQUAmax brand throughout the U.S. But, initially, it will focus on the arid Western Corn Belt states such as Kansas, Colorado, Texas and Oklahoma where productivity is greatly limited by lack of rainfall. Limited quantities of seed are available for 2011 from five hybrid platforms and eight different hybrid numbers in a range of maturities and herbicide and Bt technology packages.

The next generation of drought-tolerant products will build upon both native trait tolerance and transgenic solutions. Pioneer anticipates these products being available around mid- to late-decade.

Padgett added, "We (Monsanto) are on track to get regulatory approval for the first trait in 2011. This will be followed by stacked approval and extensive on-farm testing beginning in 2012 while they pursue international regulatory approvals in 2013 and 2014. In the meantime, Monsanto continues to release hybrids in the Western Corn Belt that have natural tolerance to drought."

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