Japan approves breakthrough Syngenta Seeds corn trait and stacks

Syngenta Seeds, Inc., announced it has received approval from Japanese regulatory authorities for the Agrisure Viptera™ trait, the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack and the Agrisure Viptera 3110 trait stack. The Agrisure Viptera 3111 stack, which will be the most widely available Agrisure Viptera trait stack, combines the Agrisure Viptera™ trait with the Agrisure® 3000GT triple stack. These regulatory approvals allow the importation of U.S. corn grown with Agrisure Viptera trait stacks for food or feed use within Japan and clears the way for U.S. corn growers to plant corn hybrids with the Agrisure Viptera trait during the 2011 planting season.

The Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack offers the broadest control of insects in corn trait history. The Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack is able to provide the broadest spectrum of above-ground insect control because of Vip3A, the industry‘s first non-Cry (non-crystalline) insect control protein. Vip3A has demonstrated highly effective control of the multi-pest complex, including corn earworm, fall armyworm, Western bean cutworm, black cutworm, dingy cutworm, common stalk borer and sugarcane borer, among others.

"We are pleased that the Japanese government has given final approval to importing grain grown from corn hybrids with the Agrisure Viptera trait,” said David Morgan, president of Syngenta Seeds. “U.S. growers now have access to trait technology that provides a level of insect control previously unavailable anywhere in the industry.”

With the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack, American corn growers have an in-seed defense against multi-pest complex insects. In the U.S. alone, the multi-pest complex damages 238 million bushels of corn and costs $1.1 billion annually in lost yield and grain quality*. These pests are unpredictable, difficult to scout and challenging to treat with conventional insecticides. Corn earworm, which historically has had no viable control solution, is highly susceptible to the Agrisure Viptera trait**.

Vip3A creates new options for insect resistance management (IRM) and will serve as the platform of future Syngenta insect control and refuge solutions.

In the U.S., the Agrisure Viptera trait and trait stacks have received approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), completed consultation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and received deregulation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The single Agrisure Viptera trait also is approved for cultivation in Canada and Brazil, and it is approved for import to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Philippines and Taiwan.

Agrisure Viptera technology is available in hybrids from the Syngenta seed brands of Garst®, Golden Harvest® and NK® Seeds and will also be made available through licensing agreements. For more information about the Agrisure Viptera trait and the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack, visit www.agrisureviptera.com.