URBANA, Ill. (Chambana Today) — A chance discovery in a cold storage room at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has led to a unique blend of agricultural innovation and cultural connection.
Doctoral student Chris Mujjabi, a native of Uganda, stumbled upon a seed envelope labeled “Kitale Synthetic“ — a 1960s-era corn hybrid developed in Kenya. That find sparked a project to create white corn hybrids better suited to both African taste preferences and organic farming in the U.S.
Mujjabi, working in the Department of Crop Sciences, bred three new white corn hybrids using the Kitale seeds. He then invited members of the local African community to a field day and taste test dubbed the “Kasooli Party,” named after the Luganda word for white corn.
The result was overwhelming: the new white hybrids ranked far higher than traditional American sweet corn among attendees. “Many Africans think sweet corn is too sweet,” Mujjabi explained. “But that’s all we have access to here in the U.S.”
Backed by crop sciences professor Martin Bohn, the project aims to meet growing demand from African and other international communities across the U.S., while also enhancing organic corn production through unique traits from Kitale Synthetic. These include taller plants and broader, more horizontal leaves — ideal for shading out weeds in organic systems.
The team is now working to develop organic seed for domestic growers and to preserve access to diverse corn genetics. As Bohn emphasized, “This underscores the importance of maintaining high-quality germplasm collections and making them accessible to everyone.”