Print This PageTrait Pipeline
Discovering
Our
research-and-development process for traits begins in our discovery engine.
This work helps our researchers uncover the next frontier of plant improvements
and technologies for our farmer customers. This research ensures that new product
concepts are constantly feeding our crop portfolio.
As projects graduate from our discovery engine, they are characterized by the benefits they ultimately can deliver to the farm, including agronomic and value-added benefits.
Our primary discovery areas include:
- Grain yield
- Grain quality
- Environmental stress tolerance
- Pest control
- Herbicide tolerance
- Disease resistance
- Lipid enhancements (increased oil, improved fatty-acid composition)
- Protein enhancements
- Bioactive compounds
Delivering
Over the past 12 years, our trait pipeline has produced 18 commercial products,
including both first- and second-generation technologies. These products
continue to benefit farmers, and our research today aims to build on those
benefits by focusing in two primary areas:
Agronomic Benefits1 These are products that work to deliver in-seed benefits like herbicide tolerance, disease resistance, insect protection and yield enhancements. Our research aims to increase productivity and reduce input costs, improve protection from insects and disease, and enable a plant to combat environmental stresses like drought.
Value-Added Benefits1 These are products that work to support the growing food, feed and fuel demands of farmers’ customers such as processors and consumers. Our research focuses on nutritional improvements in oil and dietary components for consumers in the food industry, as well as greater efficiency and benefits for animal feed processors, ethanol and biodiesel plants.
Yielding
As global grain demand continues to climb, meeting a growing population’s
food, feed, fuel and fiber needs becomes ever more important. Getting more
out of every acre offers one solution to meeting such needs. Innovation in
breeding and biotechnology are primary drivers contributing to yield gains
being made today.
Our focus on yield and stress will help build on those gains in future products. Yield is a primary focus of our collaboration with BASF. In just the first few months, the companies have exchanged thousands of data points and developed hundreds of new gene constructs — product concepts that will be field tested in the coming years.
Footnotes to the product pipeline
- Pipeline candidates include research platforms in the discovery phase and specifi c product projects in phases one through four with a higher-than-average probability of success or market potential. The assessment is based on available information and technical progress to date.
- Time estimates are based on our experience; they can overlap. Total development time for any particular product may be shorter or longer than the time estimated here.
- This is the estimated average probability that the traits will ultimately become commercial products, based on our experience. This fi gure applies to all product candidates in each phase, not just the candidates listed here. These probabilities may change over time.
- This product candidate is in the Renessen pipeline. Renessen is a Monsanto/Cargill joint venture.
- This project is part of Monsanto’s collaboration with BASF focused on yield and stress research. Commercialization depends on multiple factors including successful conclusion of the regulatory process.
