The Lynch File: There is no such thing as a gene for higher yield

Over the past 40 years, we have bred higher-yielding crops by improving plant health and not by inserting a ‘yield gene’

by PAT LYNCH

There is a belief that, when breeding crops, you can insert a gene for higher yield. The reality is that “there is no gene for higher yield.” Over the past 40 years, we have bred higher-yielding crops by improving plant health and not by inserting a “yield gene.”

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