New sunflower hybrid line-up offers growers expanded options to help increase yields

The growing size of the sunflower market -- whether for cooking oils or biofuel -- has made it an important and versatile crop.

To help increase harvestable yield to meet the demands of producers and consumers in the oilseed market, DuPont has introduced the first sulfonylurea (SU)-tolerant sunflower hybrids in Europe -- Pioneer® brand sunflower hybrids with the Express® SX Herbicide-Tolerant trait.

A joint effort between DuPont Crop Protection and DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Pioneerc brand sunflower hybrids with the Express® SX Herbicide-Tolerant trait provide growers with an unsurpassed post-emergent control option for annual broadleaf weeds where there were few options before. Broadleaf weeds, both annual and perennial, are the leading weed spectrums affecting sunflower yields.

"DuPont is offering the best in both seed and crop protection. Growers now have access to high yielding hybrids with bred-in tolerance to some of the most effective herbicides for broadleaf control on the market today," said Erik Fyrwald, group vice president, DuPont Agriculture & Nutrition. "This is a strong example of how DuPont is leveraging expertise across its agricultural businesses to bring new solutions to customers.

"In the past, the lack of choice in weed control forced many sunflower farmers in Europe to rely on more expensive, less effective pre-emergent options that often did little to eliminate weed competition losses in their sunflower fields. By enhancing our industry leading sunflower products to perform effectively with our quality herbicide lineup, farmers have the potential for more yield advantages, along with improved weed control options," Fyrwald said.

Unlike other herbicide-tolerant crops currently on the market, Express® Herbicide Tolerant Sunflower seed is derived through traditional plant-breeding methods. A herbicide-tolerant trait, proprietary to DuPont, was integrated into the germplasm of Pioneer® brand high-yielding sunflower hybrids.

The combined package of Pioneer Express® SX Sunflower hybrids and Express® SX herbicide for post-emergent broadleaf weed control, gives farmers more weed management flexibility and increased levels of weed control versus existing options. The efficacy and economical benefits of Express® SX herbicide has been proven in cereals and its introduction into sunflower crops can now bring these significant benefits to sunflower growers.

Already available to growers in Eastern Europe, the Express® line of sunflower seed will be introduced in select regions of the United States for the 2007 planting season. This will coincide with the introduction of new Express® herbicides with TotalSol(TM) soluble granules, specifically created for use with sunflowers.

The Express® Herbicide-Tolerant Sunflower program is just one example of the research-related advances currently underway for oilseeds at DuPont. The company is using an integrated product development approach, combining the benefits from both traditional and modern breeding techniques, extensive field testing and leading-edge genetic technologies to produce hybrids with superior production and food processing characteristics.

Oilseed Breeding Effort

The Pioneer oilseeds breeding effort is an effective network combining product expertise in soybeans in North America and Brazil, sunflowers in Europe and rapeseed across these continents to produce products for consumers globally. Through an aggressive program of new germplasm integration from various natural and native sources, as well as trait discovery laboratories, Pioneer is able to tailor these crops for a wide variety of growing environments and end uses. Pioneer has established high-performing, quality products in the oilseed arena, including high oleic sunflower, low eurecic acid rapeseed hybrids and herbicide-tolerant crops in both sunflower and rapeseed.

Sulfonylureas are a family of environmentally compatible herbicides that were discovered by DuPont Crop Protection in 1975 and first commercialized for wheat and barley crops in 1982. They now have been developed and commercialized worldwide in all major agronomic crops and for many specialty uses (e.g., rangeland/pasture, forestry, vegetation management).

Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a subsidiary of DuPont, is the world's leading source of customized solutions for farmers, livestock producers, and grain and oilseed processors.

DuPont Crop Protection serves the global production agriculture industry with leading products for grain and specialty crops, forestry, vegetation management, fruits and vegetables, and has also entered the professional pest control market.

DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel.

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