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Cargill's Maize Breeding Research in Asian RegionTunya Kunta! and Manlllel L. Logrono 2!Asian Crop Research Manager, Cargill Seeds Ltd, 56 Moo 6, T.Dinthong Phitsanulok-Kaosai RoadA. Wangtlzong Phitsanulok 65130. Thailand. Tel. ( 66 -55 )-246-028; Fax: ( 66-55 )-245-3312Research Director, Cargill Philippines, Inc. Labangal National Higlnvav, General Santos City,Philippines. Tel No. (6383) 552-7746; Fax. (6383) 552-8305.AbstractMaize breeding research of Cargill Seeds Co., Ltd. in Asian region has been carried out inThailand and Philippines since 1979 and in India since 1996. Cargill also has testing sites inPakistan, China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan. The primary goal of Cargill maize research in Asiais to develop high yielding hybrids that are suitable to environmental conditions and farmer practicesfor Asia and Pacific countries. The existing inbreds have been developed by introgressing the elitegermplasm from around the world into the locally adapted germplasm. The resulting hybrids havebeen tested over years and in wide array of environments before being released to the farmers. urvision is to increase farmers yield and income by supplying them with superior maize hybrids throughthe most efficient distribution channel. As a global company, Cargill also believes that private-publicpartnership is essential in accelerating maize production throughout the world.IntroductionCargill Inc., USA's biggest private company (Fortune, July 13, 1992) was founded by WilliamW. Cargill in 1865 as a single grain-storage facility in rural Iowa. Cargill is an internationalmarketer, processor and distributor of agricultural, food, financial and industrial products with some79,000 employees in more than 1,000 locations in 72 countries and with business activities in I 00more.Corn breeding research of Cargill Seeds, Ltd. in Asia has been carried out in Thailand andPhilippines since 1979 and in India since 1996. Cargill Seeds Ltd. is a subsidiary of Cargill Inc. Atpresent, Cargill has three main research stations in Asia, namely, Phitsanulok, Thailand, GeneralSantos, Philippines and Bangalore, India. Cargill also has testing sites in Pakistan, China, Indonesia,Vietnam, China and Japan. The primary goal of the three main research stations is to develop cornhybrids that are suitable to environmental conditions and farmer practices not only for Thailand,Philippines and India but also for other countries in the Asian and Pacific Region.Cargill's breeding research efforts are geared towards raising the standard of living of cornfarmers by providing them with the best hybrids and their appropriate technologies.Research EffortsCargill uses both conventional and biotechnology tools in its research and developmentprogram. Elite germplasm from around the world including tropical, subtropical and temperatezones has been introgressed into the locally adapted germplasm in Thailand, Philippines and India.Products of the introgression are adapted inbreds having genetic constituents of the elite germplasmaround the world, especially the subtropical and tropical germplasm. The adapted inbreds with highcombining ability are crossed with other promising inbreds to make new hybrids. The resultingexperimental hybrids are primarily tested over different environments in Thailand, Philippines andIndia. Selected hybrids are then tested extensively in these countries with additional testing sites inPakistan, Indonesia, South China, Vietnam and Japan. These tests are conducted at Cargill stationsand testing sites by Cargill researchers. The selected hybrids are likewise tested in multilocation