Cold-limited
Current maize
Waits for warmer conditions
Early-season resources may be present, but cold sensitivity limits growth, root activity, and nitrogen capture.
what is maize missing?
The lost season: when resources are available before maize can use them.
In temperate regions, early spring can offer sunlight, soil nitrogen, and growing time. But conventional maize remains limited by cold sensitivity. CERCA reframes cold tolerance as a way to recover part of that lost seasonal opportunity.
Early spring
Cool soil
Mid spring
Nitrogen available
Late spring
Growth window opens
Summer
Peak demand
CERCA vision
Cold-tolerant maize
Starts using the season earlier
Earlier growth could help maize capture more light, nitrogen, and time before peak summer demand.
What if maize could do more when temperatures are still low?
Early-season temperatures shape how much of the season maize can actually use. CERCA explores genetic variation that may help plants maintain growth, root activity, and nitrogen uptake under colder conditions.
20°F
28°F
43°F
50°F
60°F
28°F/-2°C
Limited growth windowAt this temperature, conventional maize shows minimal early growth and slower root activity. Nitrogen uptake is limited, and early-season opportunity may be missed.
43°F/ 6°C
The tipping pointGrowth begins to improve, but many genotypes are still not operating at their potential. Root growth and nitrogen uptake start to increase.
50°F/ 10°C
Stronger early performanceMaize can grow more consistently, with stronger root development and photosynthetic activity. More nitrogen can be captured early.
From observation to innovation
Research Priorities
28°F/-2°C
Cellular Protection
- Improve membrane adaptation.
- Use cold-induced promoters.
- Maintain photosynthetic capacity.
43°F/ 6°C
Early Recovery
- Encorage root growth
- Minimize oxidative damage.
- Delay emergence.
50°F/ 10°C
Early outperform
- Increase membrane fluidity.
- Prevent metabolic shutdown changing membrane biology.
Opportunity
Raising the temperature range where maize can grow effectively can unlock more of the season, improve nitrogen use efficiency, and support higher yield potential in temperate environments.
Cold tolerance controled evaluations.
Where does nitrogen go?
The CERCA lens
Where does nitrogen value escape?
Nitrogen use efficiency is not only about applying less fertilizer. It is about understanding where nitrogen goes, when the crop can use it, and whether it becomes useful value or leaves the system.
The leak
Nitrogen leaves the system
- Lost as unused fertilizer value
- Released through water and air pathways
- Stored in grain protein with limited value for some uses
The CERCA lens
Measure what should be retained
- More nitrogen captured by crop tissues
- Better timing between nitrogen supply and plant demand
- More value cycling through roots, cobs, biomass, and soil
Measure success with the right NUE lens
CERCA treats NUE as a systems question: not just how much nitrogen enters the field, but how much remains useful across the crop, farm, and circular economy.
How can maize be redesigned?
Rethinking where nitrogen creates value.
Reducing excess nitrogen committed to grain protein and redirecting more of it toward leaves, roots, stalks, cobs, or later-season sinks that protect yield while improving retention.
More stay-green function
Test whether those traits improve developmental timing, plant resilience, nitrogen capture, and increase yield.
Less excess protein
Turn that variation into visible crop function: stronger seedling establishment and better nutrient uptake and light interception.
More nitrogen retained on-farm
Test whether those traits improve developmental timing, plant resilience, nitrogen capture, and increase yield.
What is CERCA changing?
How CERCA reframes nitrogen use across cob, grain, and root systems.
CERCA Global Strategy
Modeling, Plant Genetics and Agronomy working together to make CERCA corn possible
Aligning maize with spring nitrogen and light through better cold tolerance, reducing nitrogen tied up in low-value grain protein, and stabilizing soil nitrogen through on-farm retention strategies including biological nitrification inhibition.
