Versatile performance

Corn4FUTURE – More versatile than you might think

Corn, as a C4 crop, excels in photosynthesis and showcases remarkable water and nitrogen use efficiency, making it highly adaptable to diverse environments. This adaptability has helped corn become the world's second most important food crop. To push corn's efficiency even further, KWS has introduced ClimaCONTROL3, consolidating drought-tolerant grain corn varieties that are the result of a specially designed research and breeding program. This development is crucial as many countries and regions battle drought problems due to climate change, increasing the demand for grain corn varieties that can maintain yields under drought stress.

Corn production in Europe

Global demand for corn has increased significantly. Corn production has expanded five-fold since 1961, reaching 141.8 million tons in Europe in 2021 (Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024). It has increased due to expanded cultivation and increased yield per hectare. The key drivers for improved yield per hectare are enhanced cultivation practices and breeding progress.

KWS corn shows high uptake of CO2 from atmosphere and bonding it in biomass.

Dr. Andreas Groß, Head of International Corn Product Management

Closer look: What´s in for sustainability?

Important crop

Corn's performance as a crop is impressive, supporting its use in a broad variety of applications.

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Yield increase

Progress in plant breeding is the most relevant contributor to safeguard food production for a growing world population in the face of climate change and limited resources.

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Sustainable use

Water and nitrogen availability are the main limiting factors for corn yield. Breeding for yield contributes to improving the efficiency and sustainability of water and nitrogen use.

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A shared fight against drought – Farmer story.

Drought tolerance & ClimaCONTROL3

Under the ClimaCONTROL3 label, KWS offers innovative, drought-tolerant grain corn varieties that derive from a dedicated research and breeding program. The number three in the name stands for the fact that drought stress can have three different impacts on plants depending on the respective growth phase: Before, during or after flowering.

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Reduction of CO2 emissions & DryDown+

KWS' DryDown+ grain corn varieties are characterized by a superior dry-down capacity (drying capacity). Internal trials show that the reduction of the crop moisture from 30 to 20 percent at harvest can reduce the necessary drying costs by up to 50 percent. The long-term breeding goal is a grain moisture level of a maximum of 15% at harvest to eliminate the need of drying at all – and also enabling a significant reduction of energy use and CO2 emissions during the drying cycles.

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Sustainability starts with the seed

The future only works together

Bringing nutrition, nature and efficiency together: As one of the world’s leading seed specialists, we are convinced we can and must make a significant contribution toward finding solutions for sustainable farming that are also economically viable.

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