November 3, 2010

BASF and Monsanto announce progress in dicamba formulations

BASF and Monsanto have announced significant progress toward launching the next-generation dicamba-based weed control systems for soy and cotton.

The companies said they have made major advancements in the development of dicamba formulations, which could be available globally for farmers this decade.

Monsanto is focused on providing farmers another tool for weed management, according to Kerry Preete, Monsanto vice president of crop protection.  The recent announcement is an indication that together with BASF, they are making significant progress in bringing this new technology to farmers. Together, the strength of the formulation expertise BASF has with dicamba and Monsanto team's biotech focus seeks to deliver another breakthrough product in weed control.

The companies recently completed joint field testing of new dicamba-based formulations applied over the top of Monsanto's next-generation dicamba-tolerant soy technology in development. The research, conducted at Monsanto's Monmouth, IL research facility, demonstrated excellent weed control and crop safety on the dicamba-tolerant soy.

Innovative formulations with proven chemistries are an invaluable asset for weed resistance management and a cornerstone of sustainable agriculture, said Markus Heldt, president of BASF's Crop Protection division. He also added that the dicamba tolerant system is designed to give growers pre- and post emergence application flexibility, allowing them to better manage their resources. Thus, this improves productivity.

Additional field studies at various BASF research locations supported these results and confirmed significantly improved attributes compared to formulations available in the market today. This new formulation work offers further improvement in physical characteristics that result in better performance and safety to nearby crops.

Upon commercialisation, the dicamba tolerance trait is expected to be stacked with the high yielding Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soy trait. These next-generation technologies are aimed at offering farmers multiple modes of action and superior application timing flexibility in combating yield-robbing weeds. Monsanto announced progress in the US regulatory package submissions in July.
 

BASF, the world's leading chemical company, and Monsanto, the world's leading agriculture technology company, entered into a joint licensing agreement to develop innovative formulations for dicamba for use with herbicide-resistant cropping systems in January 2009. The two companies also have an established R&D collaboration to develop other new trait technologies for farmers.