Global Reliance on Corn Belt Dent with Dr. Stephen Smith

“Global Dependence Upon Corn Belt Dent Maize Germplasm: Challenges and Opportunities” with Dr. Stephen Smith, Affiliate Professor at Iowa State University Plant breeders are constantly trying to find the best crosses to increase the traits farmers and consumers want. However, continually crossing the same varieties can decrease the genetic gene pool over time, making plants susceptible to certain pests, diseases, and other stressors. To help understand the depth of the gene pool and to better understand how reliant we are on certain crop varieties, Dr. Stephen Smith and his team attempted to survey which maize varieties are bred and used the most. On this episode, we dive deep to discover what his team turned up. Tune in to learn: ·         What obstacles can exist for researchers trying to gather worldwide breeding data ·         Why pre-breeding is a crucial complement to the newest tech ·         Which countries keep the best maize breeding records ·         How reliant we are on certain maize varieties If you would like more information about this topic, this episode’s paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20802 This paper is always freely available. Contact us at podcast@sciencesocieties.org or on Twitter @FieldLabEarth if you have comments, questions, or suggestions for show topics, and if you want more content like this don’t forget to subscribe. If you’d like to see old episodes or sign up for our newsletter, you can do so here: https://fieldlabearth.libsyn.com/. If you would like to reach out to Stephen, you can find him here: Stephen.Smith@mchsi.com If you would like to reach out to Yaswant Kumar Pankaj from our Student Spotlight, you can find him here: yaswant19994@tamu.edu https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaswant-kumar-pankaj-0535a6b5/ Resources CEU Quiz: https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning-Center/Courses/Course-Detail?productid=%7b78BCC3E2-26F4-ED11-8848-000D3A3236E0%7d  Transcripts: https://www.rev.com/transcript-editor/shared/XunXbxbDXPOL_SGYM4hFfmQRtjA0BVjche4ujk1Wjw4toMH709hcD0tG7Rukmx9gPzcqtSzuxkAsYSgTSl9u3Z4ZDa4?loadFrom=SharedLink  CIMMYT: https://www.cimmyt.org/ USDA Plant Introduction Research Station: https://www.ars.usda.gov/midwest-area/ames/plant-introduction-research/ National Plant Germplasm System: https://www.ars-grin.gov/npgs/ Crop Trust: https://www.croptrust.org/ Sponsored by METER Group. METER sensors deliver real-time, plant, soil, and atmospheric data that fuels environmental research. Listen to METER Group’s new podcast We Measure the World to hear how innovative researchers leverage environmental data to make our world a better—and more sustainable—place at metergroup.com/fieldlabearth Field, Lab, Earth is Copyrighted by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.