St. Louis, Missouri
March 1, 2007
In line with its commitment to
product stewardship, Monsanto
is launching a new online Weed Resistance Risk Assessment
Program for growers who use Roundup Ready® weed control
technology. Located on the Web at www.weedtool.com, the
one-of-a-kind risk assessment program was created to help
farmers gauge the risk of developing glyphosate-resistant weeds
in their fields. In addition, it offers best farming practices
to manage those risks without limiting yield potential.
Monsanto developed the program in cooperation with seven leading
universities: Purdue University, University of Nebraska,
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, the University of
Missouri, Michigan State University, North Carolina State
University and Iowa State University.
“We are proud to support our farmer customers and provide them
with this informative Web-based risk assessment program to help
them obtain practical weed management options when utilizing
glyphosate technology,” said Dr. Rick Cole, Monsanto Corn
Technology Development Manager. “We believe this tool will
provide them a valuable resource to measure the weed resistance
risk in each field and give them actual advice for the
management of the risk from academic experts in the agriculture
industry.”
With the help and advice of university weed science experts, 10
brief questions were developed as the basis for this farmer
field-by-field assessment. After participants answer the
field-related questions, they are assigned a risk rating score.
Then, their three highest scoring questions are addressed with
corresponding best farming practices designed to help lower
their weed resistance risk. In addition to the
situation-specific recommendations, users have access to weed
management guides for tough-to-control weeds, academic weed
resistance tip boxes and other university weed specialist
articles.
“With Roundup Ready technology established as the foundation for
weed control in soybeans, cotton, canola and corn, we want to
ensure growers are confident they can enjoy the benefits of the
technology year after year and minimize the risk of developing
weed resistance to glyphosate,” said Cole.
The Web-based tool is the first interactive risk assessment
component of Monsanto’s overall glyphosate stewardship plan.
Monsanto continually evaluates its recommendations for effective
weed control and provides alternate weed control recommendations
to control tough or resistant weeds. Monsanto also sponsors
extensive research, often through partnerships with university
cooperators, on weed resistance and the company develops best
management practices for different cropping systems.
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of
technology-based solutions and agricultural products that
improve farm productivity and food quality.
Roundup Ready® crops contain genes that confer tolerance to
glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup® agricultural
herbicides. Roundup agricultural herbicides will kill crops that
are not glyphosate tolerant. Roundup® and Roundup Ready® are
registered trademarks of Monsanto Technology LLC. |
|
