Chapter 1028: 936: "Monsanto" Youth Edition

Chapter 1028: Chapter 936: “Monsanto” Youth Edition

Joseph’s eyes immediately lit up, he asked, “What level have you increased the sugar content to?”

Achard’s face showed a look of pride: “11.5%, very close to 12%, Your Highness.”

The 12% sugar content was Joseph’s original “strategic task” given to Achard, and although the deadline was still far off, he had essentially succeeded.

In fact, he was quite lucky. After conducting a massive amount of hybridization, selection, and fixation experiments based on Joseph’s teachings on genetics, he discovered an extremely excellent sugar beet last year.

Sugar content reached as high as 11.5%.

Achard continued, “As long as we establish more stringent seed management protocols, Prussia’s sugar beets won’t have any competitive edge in the short term.”

The sugar beets smuggled by the Prussians only contained 8% sugar.

Achard’s new strain had a sugar content that was a full 50% higher, this translates to much more than just 50% higher profit.

Because refining equipment, processing time, and transportation costs would all be significantly reduced, the new beet variety presented a crushing advantage.

“You’ve done exceptionally well,” Joseph showed an approving smile, “Looks like I need to petition His Majesty the King for a title for you.”

Achard was overjoyed: “I truly don’t know how to express my gratitude, Your Highness.”

He immediately began speaking with Joseph about his beet hybridization experiments, which left Joseph baffled.

Currently, his level of expertise in biological hybridization had been surpassed by Achard.

Never underestimate the geniuses of this era—once endowed with advanced concepts, they can rapidly rely on their intellect and tenacity to outstrip their teachers.

“I’ve discovered something peculiar.”

Just as Joseph was pondering how to conclude the conversation, Achard suddenly said, “The newly cultivated beet plants are very strange, they can only reproduce with their own offspring. If crossed with other beet plants, the seeds produced will suffer severe deformities.”

“I think this is a new field in genetics that needs serious research…”

Joseph was instantly taken aback, raising his hand, he asked, “Wait, you mentioned earlier that this beet appeared suddenly, it’s very robust, with thick leaves and deep leaf color?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” replied Achard.

“And simultaneously unable to reproduce with previous varieties?”

“Indeed,” he answered.

Joseph smiled, “Mr. Achard, you may have obtained a diploid plant.”

The botanist blinked in confusion, “What is a diploid?”

“Or perhaps it’s a tetraploid, octoploid,” recalled Joseph, drawing out a sheet of paper, “We must start from chromosomes.”

After sketching for a while, he exclaimed, “Here, look, this is a plant cell, inside the nucleus resides genetic material, known as chromosomes.

“A nucleus doesn’t just house one set of chromosomes.

“In certain random situations, two, four, eight, or even dozens of sets can fit inside.

“This doesn’t alter the type of the plant, but will cause it to exhibit different physical forms.

“This typically results in plants being more robust, leaves thickening, yield increasing.

“Hmm, you can even artificially induce polyploidy, though I only remember using colchicine…”

Realizing he might have misspoken, Joseph waved his hand hastily, “Ah, that’s not important. Do you understand the concept of polyploidy now?”

After asking several questions, Achard finally nodded, “I believe I understand what polyploidy is now, Your Highness.”

“Good, let’s move on to the next issue,” Joseph drew a diagram of a tetraploid and a diploid, “These are two polyploid forms of the same plant. If they cross-pollinate, what do you think the outcome will be?”

Achard rapidly extrapolated and then confidently stated, “It would produce a triploid new plant, Your Highness.”

“Exactly! Let’s continue. What would be the offspring of these triploids?”

Achard furrowed his brow, “Based on the ‘meiosis’ model you taught me, this plant shouldn’t be able to pair its chromosomes… An odd number of chromosomes can’t split evenly to form new chromosomes to pass onto the next generation. Like three socks can’t be paired into pairs…”

Suddenly he looked in astonishment at Joseph, “You, you explained why the newly cultivated beet can’t reproduce with previous varieties!

“Oh, Jesus, I thought this was a new domain. But you already knew the cause!”

Joseph smiled and traced a cross on his chest, wisely saying, “It’s all the revelation of Jesus, I am merely conveying it to you.”

He then shifted the conversation, “Although triploids can’t breed offspring, they can grow normally. Meaning the triploid beets can grow tubers.

“And all the sugar lies in their roots.”

Joseph vaguely remembered that triploids and pentaploids, such non-breeding plants, often grow more robustly because they don’t waste energy on seeds.

Achard’s response was swift, he immediately declared:

“Hence, we can preserve diploid and tetraploid plants, mass-cultivate triploid seeds in breeding labs, and hand them over to farmers for planting.

“They can only harvest tubers, but no seeds.”

In a limited area managed entirely by breeding lab personnel, smuggling sugar beet plants would be virtually impossible.

Joseph nodded, “We could even directly sell the seeds to the Prussians.”

Indeed, Prussian farmers would not be able to refuse sugar beet seeds with a sugar content of 12%.

Understandably, it wouldn’t be long before Prussian domestic sugar refining mills would select machines based on 12% sugar content and design production processes accordingly.

Cost and profit margins are simply too advantageous.

In this way, even if someone still has sugar beets with an 8% sugar content, it would be very hard to find a sugar mill to refine them.

Eventually, Prussia’s beet sugar industry would develop a severe dependency on French seeds.

By then, France could impose conditions when selling seeds—just like those biotechnical companies in later generations.

For instance, the produced sugar must be traded on the Paris Futures Exchange. Of course, in order to reduce transaction costs, a Bavarian Futures Exchange controlled by France could also be established.

Or even directly stipulate in the seed contract that the produced sugar must not be sold to England.

The Prussian government would have to deploy police forces to ensure compliance. That would concern the issue of countless Prussian farmers getting seeds for the next year.

Hmm, Russia is also suitable for beet cultivation, we could sell to them as well.

In later years, Russia would become the country with the largest area of beet cultivation in Europe.

With the continuous increase in beet yield, the sugar franc would also become more stable.