For the first time, we are devoting a portion of the community garden to help Jyoti Rout run some experiments using corn to test some hypothesis that he has. Jyoti is trying to discover a new way for fast breeding corn, methods he thinks should be applicable to breeding other crop plants. His experiments involve growing many different corn lines, making different test crosses and observing the progeny.
By 2050, the world population is expected to grow to 9.8 billion from the current population of 7.6 billion. According to estimation reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), by 2050 our world would need to increase food production by about 60% more. Therefore, developing faster breeding methods are necessary.
Current breeding methods involve crossing two or more parents and transferring the desired traits by repeated back-crossing with the chosen parent. This process is time and labor intensive and may take anywhere from 3-7 yrs. Jyoti hopes that his methods should speed up the processes of varietal development and save cost and resources.
This is not genetic modification. Jyoti will be happy to explain the difference and to and teach you about different corn lines that he is currently growing and even teach you how to make crosses in corn and other plants.
To reach Jyoti, please contact our church office 503-645-0744 office@stgabrielpdx.org and we can connect you. He invites you to visit the corn field and bless his experiments.
In our community garden, being situated so close to a place of worship, it gives Jyoti an immense happiness while he works with these plants for a noble cause. Jyoti appreciates all the support he has been receiving from the church and its leadership and his fellow gardeners. 🙏
We invite you to make a peaceful visit to our small corn field at the west side of our Community Garden and bless Jyoti Rout’s experiments.
~Tom Horgan
