Monsanto says its YieldGard VT is a new rootworm technology that results in better performance of the traits. According to the company, the VecTran technology allows more precise insertion of genes into chromosomes, resulting in “hotter” stacked-trait hybrids.

YieldGard VT will be planted on about 1 million acres this growing season with a much larger launch in 2008. The first hybrids released by Monsanto will be YieldGard VT Triple with the second generation of YieldGard rootworm, YieldGard corn borer, and Roundup Ready 2 technology. The launch will be across the Corn Belt.

Monsanto reports that in 2005, company researchers dug 30,000 roots and compared the YieldGard VT roots to those of industry-standard YieldGard brands. In the company’s comparisons, the YieldGard VT hybrids scored better in root ratings than the YieldGard hybrids did.