DuPont announces collaboration with Purdue Ag.

A group of 10 DuPont officials toured the Indiana Corn and Soybean Innovation Center and other parts of campus and met with College of Agriculture faculty, staff and students March 30 prior to announcing that Purdue had been granted access to DuPont Pioneer's proprietary phenotyping and ear photometry technology. As part of a new research collaboration, DuPont will also sponsor the Henry Wallace Chair in Plant Sciences over a five-year period. The multi-year investment qualifies for the College of Agriculture's Endowed Chair Challenge and will generate an additional gift of $1 million from a College of Agriculture alumnus.

"We could not be more excited to have DuPont as a collaborator in our sciences program," said Jay Akridge, Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture. "This investment will dramatically enhance our capabilities to improve plants and build on the momentum of the Purdue Moves Investment in Plant Sciences."

Phenotyping is the process of learning how the genetic makeup of a plant adapts and reacts to the environment to produce complex traits such as growth, tolerance and yield. Ear photometry technology, which qualifies yield on a single ear of corn, enables researchers to identify which key ear traits -- such as ear size or number of kernels -- affect overall performance.

-- Darrin Pack, news writer, Purdue University College of Agriculture --