TROPICAL DENT®
Farmers expect stable and steady performance whatever the situation, the potential or the climate. Tropical Dent® corn ticks all these boxes. The range is based on Lidea Seeds genetics, obtained through sustained research and experimentation across Europe.
Since the arrival in Europe of corn hybrids in the 1950s, the quality of seeds offered to farmers has been improving constantly. The average gain in yield over fifty years was more than 7.5 t/ha thanks to European flint and American dent genetics. Over ten years ago, Lidea set up a strategy focused on research into new genetic pools of corn families in order to pursue the genetic progress curve. After extensive inventory work assisted by molecular marking tools, the Lidea research team discovered an original source from tropical countries.
“This family we call Tropical Dent® brings a very strong heterosis effect to our genetics, because it is very different from usual lines” – explains Pierre Carolo, Director of Lidea's Corn Breeding Programme.
“With our hybrids, farmers can benefit from a clear step change in genetics, always with additional yield gains and consistent results in very varied soil and climate conditions, including in continental Europe.”
Overall, the Tropical Dent® hybrids tend to bear closer resemblance to the European flint corns, with round, orange-coloured grains, but the desiccation process is much faster at the end of the vegetation cycle, like the American dent. This new Tropical Dent® source is being introduced gradually to the Lidea range by crossing with European flint to obtain early hybrids and with American dent to create late varieties.
Today most of the corn hybrids sold on the market come from the well-known American dent or European flint genetic groups. A lack of diversity limits heterosis potential. Lidea invested in a global inventory of the genetic material to discover unexplored corn genetic sources, resulting in the Tropical Dent® family. The advantages of Tropical Dent® products are: yield, stability and drydown.
Improved yield is ensured by the positive heterosis effect. Stability is provided by the wide testing network and statics meteo models, allowing the selection of the most suitable hybrids. And even if Tropical Dent looks similar to flint, it ensures very quick drydown before harvesting.