“Risk assessment of pollen-mediated gene flow from Ga1-m field corn to dent-sterile Ga1-s popcorn” with Dr. Amit Jhala and Dr. Ethann Barnes.

Popcorn accounts for a small portion of the corn grown in the United States. It is therefore important to protect popcorn varieties from cross-pollination with other field corn varieties. Up until now, genetic differences have protected popcorn from field corn cross-pollination. However, the introduction of certain Mexican maize varieties into the corn breeding pool for desirable traits has also introduced the potential risk for corn plants that are genetically compatible with popcorn cross-pollination. Drs. Jhala and Barnes are working to assess these risks to your favorite snack.

Tune in to learn:

• How cross-pollination in corn is similar to keys and doors.
• The process by which corn plants are pollinated
• What some of the key factors are in corn cross-pollination
• Why even as little as 5% gene flow can pose a severe threat

If you would like more information about this topic, this episode’s paper is available here: https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20254

It will be freely available from 4 December to 18 December, 2020.

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If you would like to reach out to Ethann, you can find him here: [email protected] @ethannbarnes

If you would like to reach out to Amit, you can find him here: [email protected] @AmitUNL

Resources

CEU Quiz: https://www.certifiedcropadviser.org/education/classroom/classes/909

Nebraska Agronomy and Horticulture Twitter: @unlagrohort

Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources Twitter: @UNL_IANR

Martha Mamo Twitter: @MarthaMamo3

Amit Jhala Lab: agronomy.unl.edu/Jhala

University of Nebraska Lincoln Extension Portal: cropwatch.unl.edu

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