Bayer pledges new herbicides against rising weed resistance

Bayer revealed to AgroPages that it is developing a series of herbicide solutions to combat rising weed resistance.

According to the multinational, the technologies encompass the entire production system, from the pre-emergence phase of invasives to the pre-harvest stage of soybeans.

The news was presented at the Soy Innovation Club, an event held in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso.

″Our proposal involves 11 solutions in this system designed to contain the spread of resistant weeds in crops, such as soybeans, corn, cotton and sugar cane,″ said Matheus Palhano, Bayer’s Herbicides Manager for Latin America.

Within the scope of its innovations, Bayer plans to launch, in 2026, the herbicide, Convintro Duo, which has two active ingredients and is aimed at the pre-emergence phase of soybeans.

Also planned for the coming years is the launch of herbicides that will contain an unprecedented molecule aimed at post-emergent weeds, Icafolin-methyl, the first active ingredient developed for this purpose in 30 years.

″Icafolin will play a crucial role in weed management, especially in controlling Digitaria insularis and Eleusine indica,″ Palhano said.

Bayer’s current strategy is to combine more than one molecule in the same solution in most of the products to be launched, he added.

″In this way, it becomes even more difficult for weed plants to become more resistant to active ingredients,″ he explained.

During the event, participants from the Soy Innovation Club were able to witness the effectiveness of Icafolin in the trial field for the first time.

According to Palhano, more than 44 million hectares are planted with soy in Brazil today, with approximately 60% of this area having the presence of weeds that are resistant to at least one existing active ingredient.

By 2030, it is possible that this percentage will exceed 65% of the area planted with oilseeds, with the tendency to have more than one weed plant being resistant to many types of active ingredients, according to projections.

″Weeds are gaining resistance at a faster rate than expected,″ Palhano stressed.

To reduce the spread and resistance of these invaders, Palhano proposed a development in the management system. 

″The first step is to abandon the individual weed control approach for each crop and adopt a comprehensive management system for the entire crop, including for soybeans, corn, cotton and other rotation crops. An example is to begin weed management after the corn harvest, in anticipation of the subsequent crop, such as soybeans, which will reduce the incidence of invasives and facilitate subsequent control,″ he explained.

News for the future

After RR soy, Intacta RR2 Pro and Intacta2 Xtend, the company announced that it is developing the fourth generation of transgenic soy.

According to Bayer, the next generation technology, which was also presented in a trial field during the event, will provide tolerance to four herbicides and new modes of action for pest control.

″Intacta2 Xtend for soybeans enabled farmers to achieve productivity averages of more than 100 bags per hectare. With VTPRO4 corn, irrigated corn producers achieved averages of over 300 bags per hectare. Recently, we also made the fungicide, Fox Supra, available for soybeans,″ said Fernando Prudente, Director of the Soybean and Cotton business at Bayer.

To facilitate the development phases until the launch of innovations, the company allocates some €2.8 billion annually to global research and development.

″Any investment in innovation requires a safe and stable legal environment, guaranteeing intellectual protection that remunerates the development work, which takes decades to be completed in the country, enabling the continuity of research for the advancement of tropical agriculture, which faces new challenges related to pests and diseases year-after-year,″ said Marcia José, Bayer’s Director of Product Safety.

This favorable environment not only allows us to ″launch solutions in line with the challenges of current producers, but it also empowers us to face the future demands of agriculture,″ she added.

Soya Innovation Club

Launched in March 2023, the Soy Innovation Club is an initiative that aims to promote discussion on the evolution of the sector, resolve bottlenecks, debate technical issues, and cover any topic that encourages further innovation, technology and cultural sustainability in Brazil. It is a coalition in favor of innovation and the development of Brazilian agriculture.

″We are a company with an important guiding principle for collaboration and co-creation, anchored in the open innovation model, and this coalition reflects this. We know the importance of teaming up with different agents and professionals in the sector, to provide even faster solutions that make sense for farmers. The main innovations and decisions for the future of soybean farming will be born from this group,″ said Fernando Prudente, creator of the project.

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)