February 1, 2012

Bayer CropScience's TwinLink cotton technology gains US market access

Bayer CropScience confirms its cotton technology, TwinLink has gained full market access in US upon receiving US Environmental Protection Agency's authorisation.

The EPA registration completes the federal regulatory authorisation of this technology in the US.

TwinLink technology combines insect-resistance for effective management of a number of lepidopteran pests (caterpillars) and tolerance to glufosinate-ammonium herbicides (Liberty). When commercialised, TwinLink technology will be offered to US cotton growers as a stack with GlyTol, the company's proprietary glyphosate tolerance technology. This stacked product will be the industry's first dual-gene herbicide tolerance, dual-gene insect resistance solution for cotton, allowing farmers to manage the pests and weeds that reduce yields and fibre quality, as well as prevent or postpone the onset of weed and pest resistance.

'TwinLink technology will be an important solution for cotton farmers looking to improve their crop management choices and increase their productivity in a sustainable way. It is also a critical tool for effective weed and insect resistance management - a serious challenge facing growers in the US and increasingly in other important production areas around the world,' said Mathias Kremer, Head of the Bioscience business unit of Bayer CropScience.

It is anticipated that the first cotton varieties with the TwinLink and GlyTol stacked traits will be available in the US from 2013 onwards, pending additional regulatory approvals in key import countries. To date, TwinLink has been approved in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and the US. Additional regulatory approvals are pending globally.

TwinLink is the next product in a series of new weed and insect management solutions being developed for the cotton farmer by Bayer CropScience. In 2011, the company launched three new cotton products containing GlyTol in high-performance FiberMax cotton seed varieties in the US, including the cotton industry's first combined dual herbicide tolerant varieties featuring both GlyTol and LibertyLink- technologies.

Cotton, one of the key crops at Bayer CropScience ranks first in the world cotton seed market.