Bayer: Keeping up with soybeans

In an effort to aid growers in identifying solutions, at this year’s Farm Progress show Bayer will enhance its educational efforts and for the first time leverage augmented reality technology to reach growers with information powered by tablets and mobile phones. As part of the new augmented reality platform, growers will interact with 3D images and pop-up content to help them unlock mission-critical information about key factors that may impact yield tomorrow and steps that can be taken today to address these issues. The company will also host learning sessions on soybeans and weed management – designed with the grower in mind. 

 

“Growers cannot control the weather or the market, but they do control which technologies they invest in to help them increase productivity,” said Brad May, strategic business lead of Bayer SeedGrowth™. 

 

One of the most important decisions growers make each season is their selection of seed, and this summer Bayer CropScience announced the introduction of Credenz™, the company’s first global soybean seed brand. Credenz brings growers a solution that offers more variety and choice than ever before, integrating smart genetics, traits and varietal performance for optimal yield production. Credenz will be available for the 2015 growing season in the United States, with choices, such as LibertyLink and glyphosate-tolerant traits, in 27 high-performing varieties developed for specific maturity groups (two through seven). Additional maturity groups will be available with new varieties in 2016 and beyond.

 

Soybean growers face a variety of challenges, including having the right weed management program in place. With increasing concerns over weed resistance, Bayer CropScience has increased its supply of Liberty®herbicide to help growers tackle their most difficult weed problems. When combined with the powerful LibertyLink® system, Liberty offers growers a choice in their weed management program. Based on a strong foundation of non-selective herbicide tolerant traits, Bayer CropScience plans to expand the Credenz platform over the coming years by introducing multiple new trait technologies, including new herbicide and HPPD inhibtor-tolerant varieties.

 

The first line of defense in protecting a grower’s investment in quality seed is the use of innovative seed treatment products. Soybean farmers have come to rely on Poncho®/VOTiVO®, which combines one of the most trusted seed-applied insecticides with the most revolutionary, complete nematode protection available. Destructive nematode species, such as the Soybean Cyst Nematode (SCN), can reduce yields by 15 to 20 percent without any evidence of nematode damage above ground. Following four years of evaluation, soybean growers have seen an average increase of 1.5 to 2.5 bushels per acre using Poncho/VOTiVO, when compared to standard seed treatments.  

 

While the SCN is responsible for a tremendous amount of damage, another growing threat to soybean yield is Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS). In fact, it is one of the top-four yield-robbing diseases in soybeans and has now spread throughout the Midwest, threatening to severely impact the gains in productivity soybean growers have come to expect. This year in particular, researchers expect soybean crops to experience high SDS rates, as the conditions have been very similar to 2010 when growers experienced significant loss from the disease. From 2009 to 2011, average losses were estimated at 42 million bushels a year. In 2013, Bayer CropScience submitted an application to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the registration of ILeVO® seed treatment on soybeans. When approved, it will be the first product of its kind to provide breakthrough protection for soybean seedlings from the fungus that causes SDS. Bayer CropScience anticipates EPA approval by the end of 2014, making ILeVO available for the 2015 growing season.

 

“Soybeans are a strategic crop for Bayer CropScience and our focus on building a fully integrated soybean portfolio of offerings will provide growers with complete solutions of seed, seed treatment, traits and crop protection solutions,” said Allen Gent, U.S. soybean product manager.