Bayer CropScience Adds Biological Seed Treatment
December 13, 2010 Bayer CropScience LP has finalized a licensing agreement with Heads Up Plant Protectants Inc. for access to Heads Up seed treatment. The terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.
Heads Up contains a naturally occurring substance extracted from Chenopodium species. When applied to soybean seed, Heads Up triggers the crops’ defense systems against diseases upon germination, says Bayer CropScience product development manager Jennifer Riggs.
“It effectively creates an early warning system so the crop produces naturally occurring disease-defense mechanisms before infections can get a head start,” she says. “Growers will have an innovative natural seed treatment solution that can safeguard their crops and potentially increase yields. When used with seed-applied fungicides, Heads Up brings an additional mode of action to protect young soybeans from soil diseases that are present in the environment when soybeans are traditionally planted.”
All plants have built-in defenses against pathogenic diseases, Riggs says. These natural defense mechanisms are not always activated in time for protection, she adds.
Oftentimes, by the time they are activated, seedling diseases have already overwhelmed the crop. Heads Up induces an anti-fungal response in plants before disease pathogens have a chance to attack.
By enhancing a crop’s defenses, Heads Up limits damage from seedling disease pathogens, including Rhizoctonia, Pythium and Fusarium. More than 30 replicated trials in 2007-08 have demonstrated a 1 to 3 bu/A yield advantage in soybeans over base seed treatment systems.
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