CBN 2023: Bayer announces label extension for nematicide Verango Prime

Bayer announced the extension of the label for the nematicide, Verango Prime, during the 38th Brazilian Congress of Nematology (CBN 2023), which was specially covered by AgroPages.

The product, which was already approved for use on soybeans, coffee, potatoes and sugarcane, is now recommended for use on corn, cotton and various horticultural crops. The formulation has the active ingredient, Fluopyram, a unique molecule in Brazil that offers effective and long-lasting control, even at low dosages per hectare.

One of the great novelties of Verango Prime can be seen in its handling. After several years of research, the nematicide is the only chemical product approved for application in bars.

The solutions available on the market can only be applied in furrows, which can often be an operational and cost limiting factor, said Guilherme Hungueria, Bayer's insecticide manager for Latin America.

″A broad spectrum of control against the most important species of nematodes is fundamental for the management of this pest and, in addition to offering this spectrum, Verango Prime has the differential of being compatible with biological products and presents less risk to the environment and operators,″ Hungueria said.

″Innovative formulations, such as Verango Prime, are part of the innovation platform of Bayer, which invests in genetic improvement, biotechnology, biologicals, data science and cutting-edge chemistry to solve the most pressing challenges in agriculture,″ he added.

Research conducted by the Brazilian Society of Nematology estimates that, in terms of soybean alone, Brazil registers losses of some BRL16 billion annually due to nematodes. According to estimates from Kynetec consultancy, 45% of the country's soybean area has been affected by the pest and, currently, less than 30% of this area uses nematicides. This gap reflects two challenges for Brazilian agriculture, which are diagnosing the problem more assertively and optimizing the management of pesticides to combat the pest.

Another novelty that will be presented at the congress is the pre-launch of the Bayer Directo Nematoide program, aimed at creating customized prescriptions of Verango Prime for soybean plots.

The initiative is part of Bayer's strategy to offer digital agricultural solutions and innovative business models, such as shared risk. Bayer Directo Nematoide will assist producers in managing nematodes and sharing the risk of investing in nematicides, depending on the results from registered plots.

Currently, although nematode damage is not uniform across plots, management with nematicides is almost always carried out through applications across the entire area, as diagnosing areas affected by nematodes is still difficult and complex, using only traditional practices of soil sampling and visual analysis.

Still in the pre-commercial phase, Bayer Directo prescriptions will be generated from georeferenced data from plots mapped by Climate FieldView, Bayer's digital agriculture platform, in addition to agronomic and environmental data.

″The objective is to identify the areas of each plot where there is a greater risk of economic damage from nematodes, and then precisely prescribe where the application of Verango Prime is recommended. This will lead to more optimized, sustainable and assertive nematode management,″ said Bernardo Coelho, leader of new businesses in digital agriculture at Bayer for pesticides, who was also among the speakers at the event.

″The program is in the pre-launch phase. At this initial phase, we are taking this offer to around 100 farmers who are already strongly engaged in the digital transformation of agriculture. These producers will share the risk on their first purchase of Verango Prime, meaning that for plots that follow our prescription, if the solution does not bring additional gains at the end of the harvest, we will refund part of your investment,″ he added.

For Coelho, the trend is for Bayer to be less and less a supplier of inputs and more a partner that can offer personalized solutions and complete experiences based on innovation, testing and learning.

″To achieve this, rural producers who want to take advantage of the full potential of digital agricultural solutions in the future must start collecting data and connecting their properties today,″ he said in conclusion.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)