MayAgro Seed and BASF signed Clearfield Plus sunflower licensing agreement

MayAgro Seed Corporation and BASF recently announced the signing of a global, non-exclusive agreement in which BASF will license Clearfield® Plus herbicide tolerance for sunflowers to MayAgro in certain countries in Europe. The agreement allows MayAgro Seeds to be one of the first seed companies to develop seed hybrids that are tolerant to the new line of BASF Clearfield Plus herbicides.

The Clearfield Plus Production System for sunflowers, developed using traditional plant breeding, delivers improved, season-long weed control and greater crop tolerance across environmental stresses as well as the potential for increased oil content and grain yield.

Hamdi Ciftciler, Vice President, MayAgro Seeds, said, “The Clearfield Plus trait will be very important for our sunflower seed business in Turkey and in our strategic regions of Russia, Ukraine and the EU. We will strengthen our competitive position to better serve sunflower farmers within the targeted geography through the best use of this technology and are excited to work with BASF.”

“The combination of BASF’s best-in-class Clearfield Plus herbicides together with Clearfield Plus hybrids from MayAgro Seeds will give growers in the heart of Europe’s sunflower producing areas additional options to secure higher yields,” said Eckart Stein, Vice President, BASF Crop Protection, Market Management Europe, Africa, Middle East and Central Asia.

The new line of MayAgro Seeds Clearfield Plus hybrids and BASF’s Clearfield Plus herbicides will be available by 2015 in Turkey and 2016 in other key sunflower producing countries including Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria and Romania.

The financial terms of the agreements have not been disclosed.