Golden Valley, Minnesota
August 21, 2007
First it was crop rotation. Then
it was herbicide rotation. Now, crop specialists are emphasizing
trait rotation as farmers plant more corn-on-corn to keep up
with the growing ethanol demand.
“We’ve witnessed a historic shift in the Midwest, with total
corn acreage increasing by nearly 20 percent over 2006,” says
Tracy Mader, marketing manager for Agrisure® Corn Traits,
Syngenta. “Many of these
new corn acres were planted into last year’s corn crop, which
raises the importance of trait rotation to maintain yield
potential while optimizing weed and insect control.”
Cultivation is currently the only post-emergent control option
for volunteer corn in conventional corn hybrids. Mader says that
makes herbicide-tolerant varieties very desirable for
second-year corn—not only for weed control, but also for
convenience.
“Agrisure GT, for example, allows for glyphosate application to
control non-GT volunteer corn, while Agrisure CB/LL allows for
control of conventional or GT hybrid volunteer corn with
LIBERTY® herbicide (glufosinate),” says Mader.
Like soybeans, corn can suffer significant yield loss through
competition from volunteer corn. In a University of Illinois
study, volunteer corn infestation reduced yield of GT and
LibertyLink® (LL) corn by 42 percent and 60 percent at two
Illinois test locations (Urbana and Dekalb) compared to GT corn
plots treated with glyphosate and LL corn plots treated with
glufosinate.
“Because the test plots were uniformly seeded with volunteer
corn, these yield losses may be higher than what you might see
under field conditions,” points out Aaron Hager, University of
Illinois extension weed specialist and coordinator of the study.
“In the field, volunteer corn infestations usually include some
combination of clump corn, which is not as competitive. But that
doesn’t change the take-home message, which is that volunteer
corn must be controlled to prevent yield loss in corn-on-corn.”
At the Dekalb facility, glyphosate provided complete control of
volunteer corn in GT corn plots and yielded 219 bushels per
acre. Glufosinate provided 90 to 92 percent control of volunteer
corn in LL corn plots and yielded 205 bushels per acre.
“If your second-year corn follows a conventional hybrid, then
you can use your choice of GT or LL corn to expand your weed
control options,” says Mader. “But when your second-year corn
follows a herbicide-tolerant hybrid, trait rotation becomes
essential.”
Agrisure GT/CB/LL and Agrisure 3000GT (GT/CB/LL/RW) stacked
traits combine glyphosate tolerance with glufosinate tolerance,
leaving open the choice of over-the-top weed control. Mader says
the combination gives growers the flexibility of using either
glyphosate or glufosinate on volunteer corn based on the level
of weed pressure and the previous year’s corn traits.
Taking the lead in trait rotation, Syngenta is also emphasizing
the importance of soybeans in the trait rotation equation.
“Planting soybeans every third year gives you the agronomic
advantages of crop rotation and provides an opportunity to clean
up herbicide-tolerant volunteers with alternate chemistry,” adds
Mader. “It’s a critical step in volunteer corn management.”
In time for 2007 planting, the EPA approved Agrisure CB/LL/RW, a
triple stack corn trait that combines glufosinate tolerance with
industry leading rootworm and corn borer protection. The
Agrisure RW trait, available individually and in stacks, is
fully approved for planting in the U.S. Syngenta is taking all
necessary steps to obtain Japanese export approvals for Agrisure
RW as quickly as possible, and implemented a comprehensive grain
marketing program for 2007 to direct the grain to domestic use
markets such as livestock feed.
For 2008 planting, Syngenta will add Agrisure 3000GT, a quad
stack that provides rootworm protection, control of European
corn borer and tolerance to both glufosinate and glyphosate
herbicides. In addition to these new stacks, Syngenta is
currently developing additional traits to enhance corn-on-corn
production, including broad lepidopteran control, drought
tolerance, nitrogen utilization, second-generation corn rootworm
resistance and amylase corn for enhanced ethanol production.
Syngenta is a world-leading agribusiness committed to
sustainable agriculture through innovative research and
technology. The company is a leader in crop protection, and
ranks third in the high-value commercial seeds market. Sales in
2006 were approximately $8.1 billion. Syngenta employs around
21,000 people in over 90 countries. Syngenta is listed on the
Swiss stock exchange (SYNN) and in New York (SYT). Further
information is available at www.syngenta.com.
Agrisure® is a trademark of a Syngenta Group Company.
LibertyLink® and LIBERTY® are registered trademarks of Bayer
CropScience. |
|
