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Pulse crops for agricultural diversity, intensification and sustainability

 
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INTEREST AREA: Plant Breeding

One way to increase the agricultural output of existing farmland is to grow more than one crop in a single year.  Pulse crops (legume crops with edible seeds) are particularly of interest for incorporation into a cropping system due to their ability to fix nitrogen from the air and their high protein content. This type of agriculture intensification has many benefits including additional and more diverse sources of income for farmers from an alternative harvestable crop, providing an additional protein source to meet a global growing demand, reducing agricultural inputs like nitrogen-based fertilizers, capturing additional carbon from the atmosphere each year, and improved soil health.

At Corteva Agriscience, our goal is to develop effective, sustainable, and durable solutions to agricultural challenges.  We invite public and private sector scientists to join in our efforts by submitting a proposal for innovative ideas for new pulse crops that can be incorporated into new or existing cropping systems.

Closed

Submission Deadline:
October 3, 2022 at 11:59pm EST 

Who Should Apply

Public and private scientists

Compensation

Up to $15,000; potential follow up research collaboration

What Are We Seeking?

Corteva is seeking new pulse crops or innovative pulse cropping systems. The pulse could be included in any cropping system type (e.g. a proposal for a double, relay, intercropping, or annual rotational system). The ideal solution will provide supporting data demonstrating the feasibility of the approach. Proposals to breed a pulse crop to meet the Solution Requirements specified below are welcome.

Any proposed solution should incorporate pulse crops that address the following Solution Requirements:  

Must have:

1. Has been previously used, at any scale, for feed, food, fuel, or fiber production 

2. Can be planted in combination with traditional commodity crops (e.g. corn, canola, wheat, rice, cotton, or sorghum), either in a double, relay or intercrop system or as one crop in a diversified annual crop rotation.

Nice to have:

1. Potential for specialty premium (e.g. high protein, amino acid, etc)

2. A short growing season or winter annual growth habit enabling its use as a relay or double crop

3. Can be planted into non-ideal or harsh conditions (e.g. dry or wet soils, hot or cold temperatures, nutrient-limited, sunlight-limited, etc) or at a non-traditional time of year

4. Lower ploidy level

5. Proof of concept for use in a cropping system

6. Can leverage the same equipment as traditional commodity crops

Solutions not of interest:

1. Crops limited only to tropical environments

Who Should Submit?

Public and private scientists. Please indicate if you are interested in entering a future collaboration with Corteva. If so, describe what expertise, capabilities, or facilities you have for pulse crop breeding and cropping system testing.

 

What to Submit

By the deadline, submitters are asked to:

  • agree to the Terms and Conditions during the Wazoku crowd process

The submitted proposal should include: 

1. Abstract of the proposed solution

2 A detailed description of the proposed pulse crop in the proposed cropping system

  • Growing region, length of growing season, planting and harvest time in a specified region
  • Available information about the genetics of the proposed pulse crop plant (ploidy, breeding systems, genetic variation, germplasm sources)
  • Nutritional/quality/use information 

3. An explanation of the proposed cropping system

  • Expected productivity for all involved crops in their target geography
  • Management practices (proposed or known), including timing and methods of planting and harvest for all crops within the cropping system, potential weed/pest issues and benefits, etc.
  • Potential ecosystem benefits of the system
  • Any existing data or literature that supports the use of this crop in a new cropping system

4. References for supporting information and/or use cases to substantiate the proposal

5. Please indicate if you are interested in entering a future collaboration with Corteva. If so, describe what expertise, capabilities, or facilities you have for pulse crop breeding and cropping system testing.

What to Expect

Submitters can expect the following steps to occur after the submission deadline for this challenge has passed:

  • This an Ideation Challenge, facilitated by Wazoku Crowd, which has the following unique features:
    • There is a guaranteed award. The award(s) will be paid to the best submission(s) as solely determined by the Corteva. The total payout will be $15,000, with at least one award being no smaller than $5,000 and no award being smaller than $2,000.
    • The Solvers are not required to transfer exclusive intellectual property rights to the Corteva. Rather, by submitting a proposal, the Solver grants to the Corteva a royalty-free, perpetual, and non-exclusive license to use any information included in this proposal, including for promotional purposes.
    • After the Challenge deadline, the Corteva will complete the review process and make a decision with regards to the Winning Solution(s). All Solvers who submit a proposal will be notified about the status of their submissions within 30 days of the submission; however, no evaluation of individual submissions will be provided.