Soon-kwon Kim, known as Dr. Corn, a Chair Professor of HGU and the Chairman of the International Maize Foundation, successfully selected six DMR breeding varieties that are highly resistant to downy mildew, an endemic disease in the North Asia region.
Dr. Kim received Vantaytech Agricultural Research Institute, established thirty years ago, to promote upland crop research by Hungary with the request of Cambodian government in 2005 for him to use at no cost for seventy years. The condition of taking over the institute was to research maize variety development for seventy years. Ten years later, in 2015, results were confirmed and he will be allowed to use the Vantaytech Agricultural Research Institute for the consecutive seventy years.
Thanks to national donations and the government’s support, one billion won was invested so 250 corn seedlings and 100,000 varieties of germplasm were tested in breeding. Six successful DMR varieties are cultivated in seven states of Cambodia.
Dr. Kim plans to disseminate the only DMR Honey corn varieties that are bred in Cambodia to ten Asian countries with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As of today, the current maize dissemination to farmers and researchers is promoted by the Ministry of Government Affairs and Home Affairs as foreign development projects.
Dr. Kim attended the opening ceremony of the Ganaan Farmers School, newly established in Cambodia in last June. 100,000 bags of 20 KG each, of the six DMR resistant varieties of maize were donated to Cambodia collaborating with the Ministry of Government Affairs and Home Affairs, the International Maize Foundation, Handong Global University, and the Rural Development Administration.
Dr. Kim is promoting the breeding of 8,000 varieties of different types of maize in Cambodia, South Asia, and African countries. The eight best varieties will be selected from those different types of maize. The super feed corn, with a 20 to 30% higher digestion rate, seven more leaves, black and red maize breeding to prevent foot and mouth disease, avian flu, and cancer are being promoted.
On the other hand, Dr. Kim has a dream to establish a corn variety company in Cambodia by working with Cambodia and Korea. His goal is to bring self-sufficiency in corn varieties and exports to other countries.
※ Terminology
Breeding [育種]: Breeding is the reproduction of offspring, usually animals or plants that are valuable to the life of mankind.
