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Shilpa Swarup, Ph.D.

Pipeline Scientific Affairs Lead, Bayer Crop Science

Expert Bio

I knew science would be my life when at age 7, I conducted my first experiment after learning about evaporation in school.  It was from this experience that I realized science actually isn’t a mystery but an art of experimenting, observation, learnings and applying.  Science applied in agriculture is especially important to me because I grew up on a farm in India experiencing the need for technology and how this application can improve farm production. I received my bachelors in Ag Science from India, dual Master’s degrees in Plant Biotech from the UK and Molecular Biology from US and finally my PhD in Genetics from North Carolina State University.  I worked at Monsanto for six years focusing on complex traits such yield, insect resistance and diseases in plants and the application of these tools and technology. In my current role I focus on genome editing, biotechnology and breeding safety. I am still that kid at heart that loves sciences and finding ways to our lives better. I am currently the Pipeline Scientific Affairs Lead at Bayer.

Studies, Articles and Answers

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Q: What happens if farmers do not grow the row of unfertilized plants?

Answered By Shilpa Swarup, Ph.D. - Jul 25, 2018

A: Thanks for the question. I believe you are asking about how corn hybrids are produced. For starters, corn plants have both female (silks and cobs) and male parts (tassels). This means that in a field of corn, any plant can fertilize any other plant (hybrid), including itself (inbred).   Breeders create new hybrids by cross pollinating genetics of a specific male inbred (plants with uniform performance) with a specific female inbred. This is done by planting one row of the male inbreds next to rows of female inbreds.  Plants in female rows are de-tasseled manually to prev [...]

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