Composition and method for improving agronomic traits of a plant

{
  "publication_number": "US12599128B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Composition and method for improving agronomic traits of a plant",
  "abstract": "Compositions and methods for improving one or more agronomic traits of a plant are provided, which include the use of one or more fatty acids that kill or inhibit the growth of cells in the shoot apical meristem and optionally one or more surfactants. Use of the composition between vegetative growth stage 1 (V1) and vegetative growth stage 6 (V6) is described.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A method of improving one or more agronomic traits of a cereal, beet, leguminous plant, oil plant, cucurbit, fiber plant or other vegetable comprising applying a composition comprising an effective amount of methyl decanoate and optionally 1-decanol and/or methyl nonanoate to the shoot apical meristem of the plant thereby killing or inhibiting the growth of the shoot apical meristem and improving one or more agronomic traits of the cereal, beet, leguminous plant, oil plant, cucurbit, fiber plant or vegetable as compared to an untreated control plant, wherein the composition is applied in at least a first treatment and a second treatment, the second treatment being immediately after the first treatment, to saturated the shoot apical meristem with the composition, and the methyl decanoate and optional 1-decanol and/or methyl nonanoate are each present in the composition at a concentration of 0.05 M to 0.60 M, and wherein the composition is applied to the shoot apical meristem of the plant during the vegetative growth stage 3 (V3).",
    "2. The method of claim 1, wherein the composition further comprises one or more surfactants selected from the consisting group of polyoxyethylene sorbitan esters, polyoxyethylene alcohols, alkylarylpolyether alcohols, phthalic glycerol alkyl resins, ethoxylated imidazoline, decanoic acid, diglycol oleate, polyether sulfonates, alkylaryl sulfonates, and mixtures thereof.",
    "3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more agronomic traits is selected from the group consisting of seed yield, tuber yield, fruit yield, pod yield, seed oil content, seed protein content, seed starch content, biomass, flower number, drought tolerance, pest tolerance, and pathogen tolerance.",
    "4. The method of claim 1, wherein the cereal plant is selected from the group consisting of wheat, rye, barley, triticale, oats, or rice; the beet is selected from the group consisting of sugar beet and fodder beet; the leguminous plant is selected from the group consisting of lentil, pea, alfalfa, peanut, chickpea, kidney bean, lupine, and soybean; the oil plant is selected from the group consisting of rape, mustard, sunflower, castor oil plant, camelina, canola, and ground nut; the cucurbit is selected from the group consisting of squash, cucumber, and melon; the fiber plant is selected from the group consisting of cotton, flax, hemp, and jute; and the vegetable is selected from the group consisting of broccoli, spinach, lettuce, asparagus, cabbage, carrot, onion, tomato, potato, and paprika.",
    "5. The method of claim 1, further comprising harvesting one or more commercially relevant portions of the plant.",
    "6. The method of claim 5, wherein the commercially relevant portion of the plant is selected from the group consisting of seeds, tubers, fruit, pods, oil, protein, starch, leaves, fiber, terpenes, and wood."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "There is a need for reproducible, cost-effective, and sustainable methods for improving plant agronomic traits. Climate change is reducing the amount of arable land around the world. At the same time, the world population is increasing. Petrochemical-based agriculture, that uses large amounts of fuel and organic pesticides to meet food demands, is not sustainable because of climate change. Plant-based fuels must replace petrochemical fuels to reduce global warming, but cultivation of oil seed crops compete with much needed food production. As a consequence, there is a growing demand for methods and new plant cultivars capable of improving agronomic traits such as yield, drought tolerance, disease resistance, and the like.\n\nPlants possess a myriad of defense mechanisms against herbivores, pathogens, and pests. One such defense mechanism is the constitutive or inducible production of chemical compounds to deter infestation. This defense strategy is called resistance or chemical resistance. Another defense mechanism involves regrowth strategies known as tolerance. One possible outcome is the phenomenon known as overcompensation wherein one or more agronomic traits, including seed production, are improved. If the apical meristem of the plant is removed, or the growth of the apical meristem is inhibited, some plants may undergo endoreplication thereby increasing their fitness via the phenomenon of overcompensation. Endoreduplication is the replication of the genome without mitosis.",
  "cpc": [
    "A01N 31/02",
    "A01N 37/02",
    "A01P 21/00"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "A01N 31/02",
    "A01N 37/02",
    "A01P 21/00",
    "A61K 31/137",
    "A61P 25/24"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "University of Illinois System"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Ken N. Paige"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2024-01-05",
  "publication_date": "2026-04-14",
  "grant_date": "2026-04-14",
  "priority_date": "2024-01-05",
  "application_number": "US-202418405062-A",
  "family_id": "96264801",
  "cited_by_count": 0,
  "citations": [
    "KR20010012220A",
    "US6245717B1",
    "US20220312710A1"
  ]
}