Dupont (Pioneer Hi-Bred) is now able to research FAST. Included here is some video of their robot.
DuPont today opened the doors to a revolutionary approach to evaluating advanced plant genetics and new biotechnology traits that the company says will help increase productivity. DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred opened a new research and greenhouse facility that brings together cutting-edge robotics and imaging, and the capability to grow test plants at an accelerated rate.
“The technology in this new, state-of-the-art research facility will significantly increase the rate at which we bring new and better products to our customers to meet increased demand for grain for food, feed, fuel and materials,” said William S. Niebur, DuPont vice president, Crop Genetics Research and Development.
The 12,000 square foot facility expands the capacity of proprietary FAST Corn technology and introduces robotics to facilitate testing 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It increases testing throughput eight-fold over the original FAST Corn facility and process.
“Innovation is at the core of our customers’ success,” Niebur said. “This new high throughput approach is exciting news for corn growers. It allows Pioneer research scientists to evaluate advanced plant genetics and critical new traits more quickly in more plants, ultimately delivering new discoveries faster to Pioneer customers.”
FAST Corn – Functional Analysis System for Traits – allows researchers to grow corn to maturity in a fraction of the time required for traditional corn. Before FAST Corn, researchers were required to wait for a plant to reach full maturity before studying the affect of new traits.