New herbicide molecule in early development announced.
Bayer has announced pipeline project advancements and newly unveiled research in a dedicated research and development pipeline update for the Crop Science Division. In 2019, Bayer’s pipeline delivered 55 key project and formulation advancements while providing farmers worldwide with more than 450 newly commercialised hybrids and varieties of corn, soybeans, cotton and vegetables.
Bayer has an annual investment of 2.3 billion euros in crop science R&D. With an estimated peak sales value of up to 30 billion euros, Bayer continually converts its R&D investment into products that match the complexities farmers, consumers and the planet are anticipated to face.
Liam Condon, member of the Bayer Board of Management and president of the Crop Science Division, said: “At Bayer, we are driven to help solve some of the world’s toughest challenges. In agriculture, this means helping feed the world without starving our planet. Farmers with operations of all sizes need innovation not only to grow enough nutritious food, but also to do this in a sustainable manner that respects our planetary boundaries.”
Bayer builds on an innovation strategy that balances both incremental and disruptive approaches to R&D. With expertise across seeds and traits, crop protection and digital agriculture, Bayer invests in improving products customers already benefit from today, while also imaging new ways to farm.
Novel advancements
Bayer announced a new herbicide molecule: the first new post-emergence mode of action for broad acre weed control in 30 years, the company claimed. Multiple mechanism of actions (MOAs) for weed control are important for managing herbicide resistance and enabling practices that help to sequester greenhouse gases, like no-till farming. Discovering new herbicide MOAs has been a challenge for the industry, but Bayer’s continued investment, leading compound library and advanced screening capabilities have enabled a breakthrough.
Bayer announced a molecule in Phase 2 of early development which has demonstrated effective control of key resistant grasses in early research. The work demonstrates progress towards Bayer’s long-term commitment to investing approximately 5 billion euros in additional methods to combat weeds over the next decade. Discovery of this molecule is being complemented by a discovery-phase programme to identify and develop a corresponding biotechnology trait to convey herbicide tolerance and initial approaches are under evaluation.
Bayer’s short stature corn is expected to provide environmental sustainability benefits through a transformational shift in crop management flexibility. Because it is several feet shorter than today’s hybrid field corn, the product concept allows farmers to have better in-season crop access for precision applications of inputs, such as nitrogen, which can be made when the plant needs them most. Some short stature corn hybrids can also be planted closer together, enabling the protection for more corn on the same amount of land and potentially reducing requirements for land and water.
Shorter stature will also help improve standability, including better green snap and stalk lodging tolerance, helping reduce crop loss from challenging environment conditions such as high winds from extreme weather.
Bayer announced that both the breeding and biotechnology approaches to create short stature corn are advancing to Phase 3, and also unveiled a third pathway to short stature corn, a Discovery Phase project that has achieved proof of concept through gene editing.
