DuPont opens laboratory for seed treatment in Brazil

DuPont has announced the opening of a new laboratory for seed treatment in Brazil. The project is located at the Development & Research Center of Paulínia in the state of São Paulo and is a result of an investment of US$ 22 million.

The opening of the laboratory occurs one year after the launch of Dermacor® in Brazil, which is an insecticide for seed treatment aiming to control the foliar plagues on crops like corn and soybeans, such as Helicoverpa armigera. DuPont invests in a market that generated US$ 700 million last year, according to entities in the sector.

"The seed constitutes the largest investment of the producer in one crop and the productive chain is highly demanding today regarding the quality of the product. The laboratory acts to protect the farmer investment. It is a unit to test new products, formulations, and to study the coverage and the fluidity and also the quality of seed germination," highlights the technology director of DuPont Crop Protection and leader of R&D in Paulínia, Marcelo Okamura.

According to DuPont, Dermacor® could be used in the next summer crop for the management of soil plagues such as the Lesser Cornstalk Borer ( Elasmopalpus lignosellus) and the June Beetle (Phyllophaga cuyabana) , besides the initial foliar caterpillars such as Helicoverpa armigera, the Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), and the Velvetbean Moth (Anticarsia gemmatalis). On corn, it is also registered for the same caterpillars.

"The product also brings differentiated results to control foliar plagues on GMO grains like Bt soybeans or corn,” highlights Okamura. According to him, Dermacor® is the first agrochemical in the chemical class of Anthranilic Diamides for seed treatment, which was a DuPont breakthrough and is considered very revolutionary in agronomic sciences. This technology, explains him, allows the development of highly efficient agrochemical solutions with low toxicity and a more favorable toxicological profile.

According to the vice-president of DuPont Crop Protection Brasil, Mario Tenerelli, Dermacor represents today one of the anchors of the company's strategy. Shortly after launching, the executive says, the agrochemical has resulted in sales of US$ 100 million in the country, together with another two new inputs.