Recent advances in applied corn breeding have shown that there are advantages to producing corn plants that have a short stature but the same number of leaves as taller plants

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded Boyce Thompson Institute For Plant Research Inc. $625,717 on March 1, 2026, under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program to investigate genetic mechanisms regulating corn plant height and to identify breeding opportunities for short-stature, lodging-resistant corn varieties suitable for U.S. farming.

The research focuses on corn genes initially thought to regulate plant defense against insects but recently found to produce shortened plant stature. The institute will elucidate the mechanisms by which these genes regulate height, testing the hypothesis that plant growth hormone abundance is altered in the corn stems of mutant varieties. Mutant plants maintain the same leaf count as conventional corn but display denser leaf spacing along the stem, reducing susceptibility to lodging while maintaining yield parity with taller plants.

Performance runs from March 1, 2026, through February 28, 2029, at Boyce Thompson Institute's location in Ithaca, New York. The project grant is classified as a Project Grant under CFDA 10.310.

These short corn plants are less prone to lodging, that is tipping over during high wind, but nevertheless have a yield that is equal to that of taller plants. Seed companies have released short corn lines with improved agronomic properties for growth by US farmers. However, further research is needed to identify the genetic mechanisms that regulate corn plant height. An investigation of corn genes that were thought to primarily regulate plant defense against insects unexpectedly showed that mutations in these genes produce plants with a shortened stature. The mutant plants have the same number of leaves as regular corn plants, but the leaves are spaced more densely along the stem. The proposed research will be directed at elucidating the mechanisms by which the identified genes regulate corn plant height. One hypothesis that will be tested is that the abundance of a known plant growth hormone is altered in the corn stems. The expected results of this research will open up new opportunities for breeding improved short corn varieties for planting by US farmers.