News about the Genomes To Fields (G2F) Phenotyping Initiative

April 10, 2017

2014 and 2015 Genomes To Fields datasets are now publicly available

Genomes To Fields (G2F) has been collecting standardized maize phenotypic, genotypic and environmental data from numerous field trial locations across the USA beginning in 2014 (known as the Maize GxE Trial). Recently, the 2014 and 2015 datasets have been made available to the public. To our knowledge, this is one of the most extensive publicly available maize datasets ever produced. The information contained in these files include relevant standard maize traits such as plant height and yield, genotype data, soil and weather data along with corresponding metadata from these experiments. The intent is to allow researchers from many different disciplines to explore and analyze this dataset and learn from it.

The 2014 data are available through this link: https://www.doi.org/10.25739/9wjm-eq41

The 2015 data are available through this link: https://www.doi.org/10.25739/kjsn-dz84

The 2016 data will become available to the public in March 2018 and is being made available to cooperators this month.

G2F Maize GxE Trial expanding in 2017

Since its inception in 2014, the G2F Maize GxE project has expanded in terms of states, locations, cooperators and plots every year. In 2017, cooperators from three additional states have been added to the trial: Mississippi, Colorado and Arizona. Below is a map showing the cooperators for this year's Maize GxE project.

Funding for Genomes To Fields

The Genomes To Fields program would not be possible without the significant investment of time, effort and resources provided by all of the cooperators. Additional cash funds are being provided by the National Corn Growers Association and several state corn boards.

This past year, the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, Iowa Corn Promotion Board and the Nebraska Corn Board pooled matching funds for a USDA-NIFA Commodity Board grant totaling $500,000 to fund a project related to phenotyping. These funds were awarded and an additional two additional grants were awarded to proposals submitted as a result of this program.

Several universities are coordinating with the National Corn Growers Association to seek federal funding to continue to expand maize phenotyping.

Genomes To Fields Sponsors

For more information about Genomes To Fields, contact David Ertl at