Arcadia Biosciences and DuPont Pioneer have teamed up to develop enabling technology that will help manage pollen flow in sorghum.
Sorghum is the world's fifth-largest cereal crop grown on approximately 100 million acres globally. It is mostly used for food, animal feed, and a variety of industrial applications.
Under the agreement, Arcadia will receive exclusive global rights to develop specified Pioneer technology for use in grain, forage, sweet, and biofuel sorghum types.
The technology will help in the development and deployment of agronomic and quality traits in the crop.
Arcadia president and CEO Eric Rey said, "Globally, sorghum is an important crop for food and feed and has significant potential as a highly productive biofuel source.
"Our agreement with DuPont Pioneer will speed the development of much-needed technologies that will create added value and improved crop performance for sorghum growers worldwide."
DuPont Pioneer Trait Discovery research director Marc Albertsen said, "We believe improvements in crop productivity through our advances in reproductive biology play a critical role in increasing crop yield and quality."