Syngenta Response to The Bulletin (University of Illinois) article (No. 24, Article 4):
“Syngenta Agrisure RW Event Encounters Significant Challenge in University of Illinois Experiment”

Situation:

The November 3, 2006 issue of The Bulletin, a publication from the University of Illinois Extension, contains an incomplete report on the efficacy of Agrisure RW.  The article cites partial results from one location in one year.

University of Illinois entomologists concluded that an infestation of the variant western corn rootworm caused root pruning and subsequent plant lodging.  The article used Agrisure RW as a platform to discuss use of transgenic corn to manage corn rootworm. They wrote about technology adoption rates, importance of a well managed refuge, their theory that the new western soybean variant is a more damaging pest compared to non-variant western corn rootworm, and the possibility a grower might still experience damage, even when planting a rootworm protected hybrid.

While the entomologists reported about having observed root damage on other sources of rootworm protected corn, they used a 2006 Agrisure RW trial conducted at Urbana to drive the point home - a single location study planted in late May following a rootworm trap crop to guarantee unrealistically high rootworm pressure.  This one location does not accurately demonstrate the efficacy of Agrisure RW and is based on the narrowest scope of the research at the Urbana location, one trial in 2006.  It neglects to report on the overall exceptional performance of Agrisure RW demonstrated in three years of research at more than a dozen universities.

Key Points about the Article:

1. The University of Illinois article is based on partial data based on one trial at one location in 2006 at the University of Illinois.  Syngenta believes this is particularly misleading since the university has data from three years of field trials with Agrisure RW prior to EPA approval on October 4th, 2006.
    

2. Syngenta believes and university entomologists have confirmed that all of the commercial rootworm events can experience performance challenges under intense pressure (untreated checks of 3.0) in areas that experience severe infestations from the variant western corn rootworm, such as the trial location in Urbana, Illinois.
    

3. Agrisure RW has delivered best-in-class performance across extensive Syngenta and university field trials from 2004-2006. Syngenta urges growers to consider the complete and extensive data that supports the exceptional performance of Agrisure RW. 

Performance of Agrisure RW – University & Syngenta Testing:

1. University testing is important and provides additional information for farmers to use when making informed decisions about their operations.

   • That is why, prior to commercialization, Syngenta tested the Agrisure RW event extensively over the course of three years with 15 land-grant universities, in addition to its own trials.

   • The compiled data from these universities, including the University of Illinois, indicates that over three years at all locations, hybrids with Agrisure RW provided an average root rating of 0.19 in trials with rootworm pressure (on a 0-to-3 Node-Injury Scale, with 0.01 representing no feeding damage and 3.00 being the highest level of root damage), well below the industry-accepted economic threshold of 0.75.
      

2. Research has proven that root ratings do not always correlate directly to yields.

   • Data shows that the economic return from Agrisure RW will be outstanding for farmers faced with rootworm infestations in their corn.

   • For two years running (2005-2006) at 14 Syngenta research plot locations, Agrisure RW has demonstrated a 33-bushel-per-acre advantage over the “isoline control” and 16.6 bushels over the “isoline control” treated with granular insecticide.

   • Syngenta studies showed a 40.8 bushel-per-acre advantage in a two-year weighted average under high infestations over the negative isoline in 2005-2006.
      

3. Consistency, the measure of the frequency with which the individual roots average equal to or less than 0.5, is another key factor in selecting an insect-control trait.

   • Agrisure RW has shown an 89 percent consistency of control averaged over the 15 university  efficacy trials under varying weather conditions.  In comparison, untreated control plots averaged 33 percent consistency.

   • Two-year data university data indicates adult rootworm beetle populations were reduced by 95.4%.
      

4. University entomologists who conducted research on Agrisure RW have been encouraged by the results.

   • In Kansas, trials demonstrated outstanding control under extreme rootworm pressure.  “We’ve had a damage rating of 2.00 in the untreated plots and virtually no damage in the (Agrisure RW) fields,” said Gerald Wilde, Kansas State University extension entomologist.  “The new trait performed very well, even under severe pressure.”

   • In Indiana, Larry Bledsoe, entomologist at Purdue University, noted that the 2005 trials were subjected to heavy rootworm pressure and a prolonged period of drought.  “The (Agrisure RW) plots performed well, while the conditions in the check plots allowed rootworms to feed faster than the roots were growing.”
      

5. Because of contractual limitations in the Herculex® and YieldGard® grower license agreements, direct comparisons of the commercially available rootworm traits have not been possible.
    

   • However, based on publicly available information and feedback from university researchers familiar with all three events, Agrisure RW is very competitive in efficacy and consistency of control for Western, Northern and Mexican corn rootworm.

For more information about Agrisure RW, visit  www.agrisuretraits.com.

Agrisure™ is a trademark of a Syngenta Group Company.
YieldGard® is a registered trademark of Monsanto Technology LLC.
Herculex® is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC.