Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
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Our mission: Improve the human condition through plant science.
06/01/2026
As farmers look for more resilient options, drought-resistant crops like sorghum are gaining attention.
In a new Omaha News.Net story, reporter Mark Moran explores why Nebraska farmers are weighing a shift away from corn toward hardier alternatives. Danforth Center principal investigator Andrea Eveland makes the case for sorghum — a crop closely related to corn that tolerates drought and heat while requiring fewer inputs like nitrogen-based fertilizers.
Meet the SMURF. 🌽
No, not those Smurfs. This one stands for Sorghum and Maize Under Rotational Force, and it's one of our favorite new pieces of science equipment. Watch it in action below as it measures how flexible a corn plant's root system is.
Here's the why: wind damage to corn is getting worse. Storms are stronger and more frequent, and when they hit a conventional cornfield, tall stalks are no match for high-speed straight-line winds. Plants topple. Stalks snap. Harvests are lost.
But what if corn was just... shorter?
Danforth Center scientist Erin Sparks, PhD, and her collaborators at Bayer Crop Science just published research showing that short-stature maize hybrids, that is, plants bred or engineered to grow about 25–30% shorter than conventional corn, experience wind damage at less than half the rate of regular corn. Across 444 field locations over three growing seasons, the difference was dramatic. At the worst-hit sites, short-stature plants kept producing grain where tall hybrid fields couldn't even be harvested.
The SMURF helped explain why: shorter corn plants also tend to have more flexible root systems, which means they can absorb and recover from wind forces that knock conventional plants flat.
It's smart science with real-world stakes. Corn is the world's most widely grown cereal crop. Helping it withstand a stormier climate is exactly what plant science is for.
05/22/2026
Never miss a story from the Danforth Center again! 🌿 By signing up for our monthly e-mail newsletter, On the Vine, you can stay up to date on our progress, learn about upcoming events, and more. Read the latest issue here: https://conta.cc/3RczVRv
And be sure to sign up for On the Vine today!
05/19/2026
Thank you to the St. Louis Business Journal for spotlighting the appointment of our incoming Chief Operating Officer, Derek Rapp.
As the Danforth Center's President, Giles Oldroyd, expressed in the article, Derek's strategic vision, operational discipline, and passion for mission-driven science will help accelerate our work to translate plant science into real-world solutions for food security, sustainability, and human health.
Read the full story here:
(St. Louis Business Journal) Donald Danforth Plant Science Center's new COO brings VC, biotech experience - Danforth Plant Science Center St. Louis Business Journal reports: The Danforth Center has named Derek K. Rapp as Chief Operating Officer. Rapp brings 40+ years of nonprofit, biotech, and venture capital leadership to the role.
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