Ceres Inc., a Thousands Oaks agronomy company, announced on Friday that it increased yields of its genetically modified corn crops by 25 percent in Chinese field tests. The company’s core business is in developing sorghum crops for conversion into ethanol, but it is also pursuing the use of its biotechnology with other crops. The corn was grown in two different climactic conditions in China through its partnership with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. “Double-digit percentage increases in highly bred corn hybrids are urgently needed in a crop where a few percentage point increases are the norm,” said Dr. Flavell, the company’s chief scientific officer. Ceres said it has licensed its genetic technology and genes to other seed companies for use in rice, corn, soybean and sugarbeet, among other crops. Shares closed up 5 cents, or about 20 percent, to 29 cents on the Nasdaq. Lily Yan Hughes has been named chief counsel at Glendale real estate investment trust Public Storage. Hughes will take the titles of senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary. She most recently was a vice president and associate general counsel at Ingram Micro, a Santa Ana electronics company. “Lily has been recognized for many honors and awards including the 2014 California Diversity Council Multicultural Leadership Award by the National Diversity Council,” said Ronald Havner, chairman and chief executive of the storage company. “We are pleased to have Lily join our management team.” Previously, Hughes was a partner in the Los Angeles office of Manatt Phelps and Phillips. She received her B.A. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley and J.D. from Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. Shares closed up 60 cents, or a fraction of a percent, to $198.50 on the New York Stock Exchange.