Staying alive – delaying floral aging improves seed set in maize

To produce fruits and seeds, plants need to be fertilized in a narrow time frame during which the flower is receptive to viable pollen. In crops, excessive heat and drought stress can negatively impact fertilization causing a reduction in seed yield. Collaborative research between the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology and Corteva AgriscienceTM identified a key regulatory mechanism to prolong female fertility in maize. This knowledge may become an important asset to stabilizing seed production for maize, and potentially for other cereal crops growing in changing climate conditions caused by global warming.