GM giants' answer to glyphosate-resistant weeds: crops tolerant to the herbicides 2,4-D and dicamba
1. Dow Agro thinks it has a winner
2. BASF and Monsanto Take Dicamba Tolerant Cropping System Collaboration to the Next Level
NOTE: Here's the GM giants' answer to glyphosate-resistant weeds: crops tolerant to the herbicides 2,4-D and dicamba.
Dow's 2,4-D-tolerant crops will enable massive use of 2,4-D herbicide. 2,4-D was an ingredient of Agent Orange, the defoliant sprayed on Vietnam by the US in the 1960s and 70s. Dow's latest crops are touted in a press report as "a great leap forward in farming productivity".
More like a great leap back into the dark ages.
Independent scientific studies have linked 2,4-D with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a type of cancer; reproductive damage in humans; birth defects; and neurotoxicity.
Studies link dicamba exposure with increased incidence of lung and colon cancer. It is a developmental toxin that is suspected of causing birth defects in humans.
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1. Dow Agro thinks it has a winner
J.K. Wall
Indianapolis Business Journal
March 16, 2011
http://www.ibj.com/dow-agro-thinks-it-has-a-winner/PARAMS/article/25939
Dow AgroSciences LLC is tooting its own horn, but its latest product really could be a great leap forward in farming productivity.
The Indianapolis-based company released more details this month about its Enlist Weed Control System, which would genetically modify corn, soybeans and cotton to be resistant to one of the most common weedkillers: 2,4-D.
That's significant because more weeds have developed that are resistant to the leading weedkiller, Round-Up, and its generic knock-offs. According to a survey by Farm Journal, nearly half of farmers have a problem with these weeds now and nearly three-quarters believe they will within a decade.
Using 2,4-D could help, but it can't be applied too early or it will harm young crop plants, said Dow spokeswoman Kenda Resler-Friend. But if weeds are allowed to grow too long before weedkiller is applied, they will sap crops of needed water and sunlight, reducing the yield.
Also, farmers have to spend more money or time to come back a second time to spray crops with 2,4-D after already spraying them with Round-Up.
So Dow Agro has come up with a two-pronged approach. First is the genetic trait that will be added to the seeds of corn, soybean and cotton to make them resistant to 2,4-D””even in the early growing stages.
Then Dow has created a mixable combination of generic Round-Up and 2,4-D that can be applied in one pass. Dow's scientists also have added a chemical called choline to 2,4-D to reduce its volatility, making it less likely to blow onto other crops not protected by the resistant gene.
Dow is still awaiting regulatory approval of its new product and doesn't expect to introduce its Enlist-brand weed control system until 2013. When it does, it will sell the product itself as well as license it to other companies. Pioneer, an Iowa-based subsidiary of DuPont, already has signed on to use the Enlist technology in its soybean products.
Dow also hopes to sell Enlist in Argentina, Brazil and Canada.
Dow expects Enlist could earn $1 billion, in today's dollars, over its life cycle.
“Enlist represents a system approach that integrates our chemistry and biotechnology expertise. It will offer farmers unsurpassed flexibility, convenience and value,” Dow Agro CEO Antonio Galindez told a group of investors in London last week.
Dow Agro also intends to offer seeds that include the Enlist genetic trait along with its SmartStax traits, which control against insects. Dow Agro launched SmartStax last year, after buying a series of seed distribution companies to help its sales. Dow is also distributing SmartStax thorugh a partnership with St. Louis-based Monsanto Co., the seed industry giant.
The SmartStax launch helped Dow Agro boost revenue and profits last year. In the fourth-quarter of 2010, the company pulled in $1.3 billion in revenue, a 20-percent jump from the same quarter a year ago.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization totaled $72 million in the quarter, up more than 4 percent from the same quarter the year before.
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2. BASF and Monsanto Take Dicamba Tolerant Cropping System Collaboration to the Next Level
Successful field trials pave way for licensing and supply agreement
Contract includes collaboration on stewardship package
Monsanto news release
Mar 14, 2011
http://monsanto.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=935
LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany and ST. LOUIS, March 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- BASF and Monsanto Company today announced a new agreement to collaborate on the advancement of dicamba tolerant cropping systems. The companies have granted reciprocal licenses, and BASF has agreed to supply formulated dicamba herbicide products to Monsanto.
The agreement will facilitate further development work and subsequent commercialization of a dicamba tolerant system, which includes innovative dicamba formulations proprietary to BASF and the dicamba tolerant trait for soybeans, which is proprietary to Monsanto. The system is expected to be introduced in the United States and Canada in the middle of the decade, pending regulatory approvals.
Both Monsanto and BASF will have the right to commercialize new dicamba herbicide formulations optimized for use with dicamba tolerant crops and the right to develop their own mixtures with certain herbicides. In addition, the two companies will collaborate on the development of stewardship guidelines and best management practices for the dicamba tolerant system. Further details of the agreement were not disclosed.
"The introduction of dicamba tolerant crops combined with improved dicamba formulations will provide farmers the tools they need to combat the yield-robbing weed resistance some are facing in their fields today," said Markus Heldt, President of BASF's Crop Protection division. "Since the introduction of Clarity in 1992, BASF has continually improved its dicamba offerings. Our next generation products will offer yet another step change in volatility reduction while maintaining the highest level of weed control. The system, along with proper stewardship measures, will ultimately deliver peace of mind for growers."
"We are committed to providing farmers with the weed management tools they need to be successful," said Robb Fraley, Monsanto's chief technology officer. "Our work with BASF brings us one step closer to bringing more improved weed control offerings to farmers. We expect the formulations to be an excellent complement to Monsanto's dicamba tolerant seed technologies when they are brought to market."
Upon commercialization, the dicamba tolerance trait is expected to be stacked with the high yielding Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean trait. Monsanto also has corn, cotton and canola dicamba tolerant crops in its research and development pipeline. These next-generation technologies are aimed at offering farmers multiple modes of action and superior application timing flexibility in combating weeds.
In November 2010, Monsanto and BASF published favorable results of joint field testing of new dicamba-based formulations with Monsanto's next-generation dicamba tolerant soybeans. The new formulations demonstrated excellent weed control and crop safety. BASF, the world's leading chemical company, and Monsanto, the world's leading agriculture technology company, first announced 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.