Kaiima Bio-Agritech, a plant genetics and breeding technology company, and Kunshan Keteng Biological Science and Technology, an agricultural research company, have signed an agreement to commercialize new corn varieties for the Chinese market using Kaiima's Enhanced Ploidy (EP) technology and Keteng's elite germplasm.
In private yield trials performed this year in China, EP corn hybrids developed by Kaiima and Keteng showed superiority compared to leading commercial varieties. The first EP corn hybrids are expected to be submitted for variety registration in 2015, and commercial seeds should be available as of 2018.
Kaiima's non-GMO, EP technology successfully harnesses genomic multiplication in plants, which is considered one of the most important evolutionary processes that occurs naturally in plants. When applied to high-impact food crops, EP significantly boosts the plants' productivity. Kaiima partners with leading seed companies who developed elite varieties of high-impact crops, adapted to important growing regions in key agricultural markets.
China is the 2nd leading corn market in the world, with approximately 36 million hectares of corn planted, and production of 218 million metric tons in 2013. Still, China remains a major corn importer in order to meet domestic consumption needs.
"China is a strategic market for us," said Mr. Shukai Jiao, CEO of Kaiima China. "While corn productivity has been improving in the country, the demand for domestic food and feed solutions continues to increase. This increase can only be sustainably met through growth in output on existing corn acreage," he added. "The research capabilities and market position of Keteng make it an ideal partner for Kaiima. The extra productivity boost achieved through our EP technology will allow farmers to increase productivity to help meet the demand while also remaining competitive and profitable."
Kaiima China, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kaiima Bio-Agritech, was established in 2014 in order to offer the company's food, feed and energy solutions to local growers. In addition to its EP technology for row crops, Kaiima also develops elite castor and vegetable hybrid varieties.
"Keteng is a high-tech research enterprise," said Dr. Maolong Lu, General Manager and founder of Kunshan Keteng Biological Science and Technology Co., Ltd. "We focus on creating new breeding material with beneficial traits by using cutting-edge breeding technologies. To feed the ever-growing population is a big challenge. We are happy to see that some good corn varieties have been developed by using Keteng corn germplasm with Kaiima's EP technology," he added. "Our next step is to deliver the value created by the joint research between Keteng and Kaiima to Chinese growers."
Dr. Maolong Lu worked for a leading seed company in the U.S. before coming back to China in 2008 to establish Keteng. "Some top breeders have joined my team and together we are making a major impact in the local seed sector," noted Dr. Lu.
