Monsanto's Wheat Platform seeds

Wheat is grown on more land area than any other commercial crop and is the most important staple food for humans. With demand for the crop expected to increase 40 percent by 2030, agricultural innovation is important in helping enhance the productivity, sustainability and profitability of wheat for farmers.

In 2009, Monsanto expanded its seeds and traits portfolio to include wheat. Today, through itsWestBred brand, Monsanto is focused on delivering high-performing, locally adapted varieties across major wheat classes in the United States.

Wheat Research and Development

Monsanto is combining multiple technologies to help improve wheat productivity, including breeding, biotechnology and improved agronomic practices.

Breeding Efforts

Monsanto has been investing in wheat breeding research - doubling the number of wheat breeding trials and deploying advanced breeding tools like molecular markers and seed chipping technology that will help develop better varieties faster. Monsanto wheat breeders are also applying lessons learned from other crops to further speed up advancements.

In addition to breeding for overall yield improvement, Monsanto's wheat breeding efforts are focused on preventing yield loss due to disease and other environmental stressors.

The breeding team operates out of five research centers located across major U.S. wheat growing areas. This enables the development of diverse varieties that are tailored and adapted to local environments, providing strong agronomic characteristics that address farmer needs.

Biotechnology Efforts

While the company's near-term focus is on breeding better varieties, longer term, these seeds will serve as the germplasm foundation in which new biotechnology traits could be introduced in the next decade. Monsanto's initial biotechnology targets will be yield and stress traits. The company is also exploring opportunities to incorporate agronomic traits, including herbicide tolerance and disease resistance.