Genotype Selection for Crop Management Research in the Stacked Transgenic Trait Area: Challenges and Opportunities for Agronomic Science.

The stacked trait era has added to the complexity of genotype selection decisions facing agronomic researchers, but it has also provided opportunities to minimize competition from, and possibly confounding treatment response associated with, those pests for which transgenic pest resistance are available and effective.  However, assumptions about plant-to-plant uniformity within corn plots will be compromised with the adoption of seed mixtures involving the “refuge in a bag” concept.  This discussion will review some of the challenges and opportunities typically encountered by agronomic researchers for whom pest management comparisons are not the primary research objective.  As agronomic scientists provide leadership in advancing the science of G x E X M (i.e. Genotype x Environment x Management interactions), and as they unravel the science of abiotic stress tolerance with modern corn hybrids, their use (or non-use) of hybrids with specific trait combinations will be of increasing relevance.