By Alex Martin
Today, Bayer announced pipeline project advancements and newly unveiled research in a dedicated research and development (R&D) pipeline update for the Crop Science division.
There’s a few different products to start expecting in the R&D pipeline.
SmartStax PRO corn is expected to launch in 2022 in the U.S. SmartStax PRO offers three modes of action for rootworm control, and it includes a novel RNAi-based mode of action.
In other news for corn, Bayer’s new short stature corn is expected to enable a production system that uses more accurate and precise crop protection, while using less nitrogen, land and water. Bayer says this will transform crop protection while being a win for farmers, sustainability and food security at the same time.
Short stack corn is currently in Phase 3 development, which focuses on advanced breeding and biotechnology. Meaning, in terms of advanced breeding, Bayer is working to introgress naturally occurring short stature characteristics into their elite germplasm, as well as partnering with BASF on a biotech approach to shorten internodes to enable applicability across a wider array of germplasm. Finally, with gene editing, Bayer is working on developing multiple approaches to generate short stature corn.
In soybean news, a new five-way stack of herbicide tolerance is currently in Phase 3 of development. This trait offering adds to XtendFlex’s three tolerances with another two modes of action — tolerance to HPPD and 2,4-D tolerance. In Phase 2 of development, there’s an additional mode-of-action coming to convey PPO herbicide tolerance.
Source : Seed World