Monsanto has announced that its first-generation drought-tolerant corn has moved to the fourth - and final - phase before an anticipated market launch by 2012.
The company also announced that it has submitted the product to the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for regulatory clearance and is the first company to submit a product of this nature for regulatory approval.
Drought-tolerant corn is designed to provide farmers yield stability during periods when water supply is scarce by mitigating the effects of drought - or water stress - within a corn plant.
Field trials for drought-tolerant corn conducted last year in the Western Great Plains have met or exceeded the 6pc to 10pc target yield enhancement - about 7 to 10 bushels per acre - over the average yield of 70-130 bushels per acre in some of the key drought-prone areas in the United States.
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