T6P: A Tiny Sugar Signal With Big Yield Potential for Wheat
- Richard Belcher
- Oct 13
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 13
Why T6P matters
Trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) is a signal to a plant that says, "there's abundant sugar". When T6P levels rise, the plant switches off the SnRK1 regulator which promotes anabolic processes responsible for starch biosynthesis. In marketable terms, it increases grain yields in wheat.
SugaROx is leading the way in this science by showcasing how T6P can bring marketable yields to cereal grains.
Meet DMNB-T6P: a sunlight-activated, foliar microdose
SugaROx’s field applications center around DMNB-T6P, a membrane-permeable “signaling precursor". You spray the precursor on the canopy; once it’s inside plant tissues, sunlight cleaves the DMNB group and releases active T6P right where it’s needed. The timing is intentional: during early grain fill, when yield transitions from “source-limited” to “sink-limited,” a short pulse of T6P can boost both grain number and grain weight.
How they applied it (simple recipe, tiny dose):
Active Ingredient: ~1 mM DMNB-T6P
Solvent/adjuvant: DMSO as the solvent with a small amount of Tween 20 as a spreader/wetter
Activation: Sunlight post-spray triggers T6P release
Timing: A single foliar pass at ~10 days after anthesis (DAA) yielded the strongest results; a later pass at 16 DAA still helped, but less
What is anthesis?
Anthesis is just a technical term for flowering, because in wheat anthers emerge during this stage. In the Feekes scale it's 10.5.1-10.5.3. Generally speaking, 10 days after flowering, kernels show up. That's when they applied the DMNB-T6P. From about 15 days after flowering on - until ripening - you enter grain filling. That's when all the starch production triggered by T6P at 10 DAA is expected to show results.
Three years of field data (Argentina + Mexico): the headline results
Large, randomized, multi-year wheat trials in Argentina (2018, 2020, 2022) and a scoping trial in Mexico show consistent yield gains with a single DMNB-T6P pass in grain fill.
Average yield gain: +10.4%
2018: +12.7%
2020: +9.3%
2022: +9.3%
Works in both wet and dry years: Yield boosts were comparable in wet (+12.7%) and dry (+9.3%) seasons—important for resilience as rainfall gets more erratic.
What’s driving the gain: More grains per m² and Individual grain weight
Practical application notes for growers & agronomists
Aim for 10 DAA on wheat; there’s a ~6-day window (10–16 DAA), but earlier in that window is better.
One pass was sufficient in these trials.
Compatible with standard spraying and built to be tank-mix-friendly (DMSO + Tween 20 in the trial recipe).
Low dose by weight (hundreds of grams per hectare) and photo-triggered activation simplify logistics.
What it could cost (and why the unit economics pencil out)
The authors estimate DMNB-T6P synthesis costs of ~$300 per ton. At current field doses, that’s only a few cents per hectare for the active. If a ~10.4% yield potential for wheat is realized on the ~3.6 t/ha global average, that’s ~0.37 t/ha more grain, or roughly $116/ha at the cited 2023 wheat price—massive ROI headroom even after adding formulation, adjuvants, retail margin, and application costs. Globalized, that pencils to $25.6 B of potential value at scale (context for market entry and partnership models).
Bottom line
A single, sunlight-activated, foliar microdose of DMNB-T6P during early grain fill consistently raised wheat yields across four years and contrasting rainfall, by ~10% on average—without extra water or fertilizer and with no major penalty to grain protein. The biology makes sense (T6P boosts both source and sink), the application is simple, and the unit economics are attractive. This is a rare case where a lab-proven mechanism translated to the field at scale—and it’s poised for broader cereal use next.
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