Indianapolis, Indiana
August 14, 2007
In 2008, corn producers will have
three in-plant traits to choose from that offer built-in insect
protection and herbicide tolerance, but choosing the right trait
for their farm requires an understanding of the differences.
Among the stacked in-plant insect protection traits being
marketed for 2008 — HERCULEX® XTRA Insect Protection, YieldGard
VT™ Triple and Agrisure™ CB/LL/RW — all three provide protection
against corn rootworm (CRW) and European corn borer (ECB).
However, only HERCULEX XTRA offers added protection against
western bean cutworm (WBCW), black cutworm (BCW) and fall
armyworm (FAW).
Ben Kaehler, Traits & Germplasm Licensing Leader for
Dow AgroSciences, says
recent market research showed that many growers thought they
were getting protection against WBCW and BCW from YieldGard,
even though YieldGard does not offer protection against those
pests.
“With all the new traits and trait combinations, it’s easy to
understand why growers can be confused,” Kaehler says. “Growers
need to understand which insects are controlled by the traits
they use, so they are not disappointed if they select a trait
with a lesser spectrum of control that results in insects
robbing yield from them.”
Kaehler also believes growers may be relying on a seed treatment
to help provide protection against a pest like BCW. But relying
on a seed treatment for protection may leave the grower
disappointed with the results as well, Kaehler adds.
“Seed treatments are a valuable addition to corn production as
they control many pests,” Kaehler says. “However, there is clear
evidence from university extension and our field experience that
seed treatments don’t provide significant protection against
black cutworm, and, of course, they provide no control of
western bean cutworm.”
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HERCULEX® XTRA Insect Protection provides broader insect
control than either YieldGard VT Triple™ or Agrisure
CB/LL/RW in-plant traits. |
Dow AgroSciences has developed a
chart that clearly displays what insects the various in-plant
traits offer protection against.
With WBCW becoming a pest of economic concern throughout the
western Corn Belt and into northern Illinois and southern
Wisconsin, and black cutworm and fall armyworm outbreaks across
portions of the Corn Belt, Kaehler says growers need a complete
understanding of the protection offered by traits before they
select hybrids for their farm.
“If a corn producer is located in a region where western bean
cutworm or black cutworm could be a problem, using an in-plant
trait like HERCULEX in their high-yielding hybrids brings peace
of mind,” Kaehler says. “If growers use the YieldGard or
Agrisure traits, they should scout their fields for these
yield-robbing insects. The reality is growers have a lot of
other tasks to complete on their farm that pushes scouting to
the bottom of their to-do list, and infestations usually go
unnoticed until it’s too late to protect yields from being
impacted.”
®HERCULEX is a trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC
®YieldGard VT Triple is a trademark of Monsanto Company.
™Agrisure is a trademark of Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc.
HERCULEX Insect Protection technology by Dow AgroSciences and
Pioneer Hi-Bred. |
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