Stacked Lineup

Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM, BY MARK MOORE

Corn is expected to remain the commodity of choice for many producers, buoyed by continued strong demand. Seed companies are responding by increasing the availability of stacked-trait hybrids in their lineups. Growers can expect good availability of these hybrids in a wider range of genetic packages.

Monsanto

Monsanto is rolling out on a large commercial scale the YieldGard VT Triple trait in corn, which combines Roundup Ready technology, YieldGard corn borer protection and the second generation of YieldGard corn rootworm protection.

“We've adopted a new insertion process, called Vectran (VT), that very precisely places the gene on the chromosome,” says Dion McBay, U.S. marketing manager for YieldGard corn traits. “As YieldGard VT expresses the Bt protein throughout the plant, it delivers a higher level of insect control and sets the stage for higher yield potential.”

The company had 1.5 million acres planted in 2007 in limited commercial release and expects to plant up to 15 million acres in 2008. “There will be ample supply in leading genetic offerings,” McBay says. “The growth curve has been tremendous.”

Dow AgroSciences

Dow AgroSciences expects continued adoption of its Herculex corn traits. “Herculex will be in more hybrids, in a larger amount of germplasm and in additional seed brands,” says Ben Kaehler, business leader for traits and germplasm licensing at Dow AgroSciences. “In addition, we are expanding our breeding program to bring more products to market.”

The company also will push its silage lineup. “We have BMR lines that are in the fifth and sixth generation of the product,” says Doug Vail, sales and marketing leader for Mycogen Seeds. “We continue to see significant growth in these products.”

Syngenta

The newest stacked-trait offering available from Syngenta is Agrisure 3000GT, a glyphosate-tolerant and Liberty-tolerant corn with corn borer and corn rootworm resistance. “Agrisure 3000GT offers two modes of action for herbicide control,” says Chuck Lee, head corn product line for Syngenta. “That's important for maximum productivity. Farmers need to increase yield to meet the huge corn demand. If producers have planted a glyphosate-resistant corn, they can use the Liberty option to control volunteer corn in a corn-on-corn rotation.”

Pioneer/Dupont

Pioneer calls it the next level in herbicide tolerance. Optimum GAT is the company's new proprietary glyphosate-tolerant trait that also offers resistance to acetolactate synthase (ALS) herbicides.

“Optimum GAT will come to the soybean market in 2009, but there will be demonstration plots available for producers to evaluate this new technology,” says John Soper, soybean research director at Pioneer. “Optimum GAT will provide an alternative to Roundup Ready technology and provide a second mode of action. This is the first trait with a dual mode of action tolerance to herbicides.”

Full commercial availability is expected in 2009 for soybeans and 2010 for corn.

“Optimum GAT is a highly competitive product that will give producers flexibility for weed-control management,” says David Bubeck, corn research director for Pioneer.

Pioneer also will expand the number of triple-stack hybrids available for 2008 — those with Herculex Xtra (Herculex I and Herculex RW) and Roundup Ready traits.

2009 and beyond

Researchers continue to work to bring new seed technology products to market that combine cutting-edge plant breeding with the latest transgenic technology.

One of the hot areas of plant-breeding research is insect control. While current corn rootworm and corn borer resistance technology is highly effective, and has proven to be widely accepted in the marketplace, researchers are looking at other modes of action that will provide both above-ground and below-ground insect protection. “Multiple modes of action will help preserve this technology in the long term,” Bubeck explains. “We want to ensure that we are doing all we can to be one step ahead of the bugs and develop products that reduce the likelihood for resistance.”

Continue reading on page 2: 2009 and beyond