Syngenta’s two Agrisure trait stack received approval from Mexico, the Philippines

Date:08-23-2010

Syngenta Seeds, Inc. announced it has received approval from regulatory authorities in both Mexico and the Philippines for both the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack and the Agrisure Viptera 3110 trait stack.

The Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack combines the Agrisure Viptera trait with the Agrisure 3000GT trait stack to control more insects than any other product in corn trait history. The Agrisure Viptera 3110 trait stack combines the Agrisure Viptera trait with the Agrisure GT/CB/LL trait stack to provide broad-spectrum lepidopteran control and herbicide tolerance in areas where rootworm management is not a primary concern. These regulatory approvals allow the importation of U.S. corn grown from hybrids containing either the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack or the Agrisure Viptera 3110 trait stack into Mexico and the Philippines for food, feed or processing use.

"Import approval of the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack by the Mexican and Filipino governments gives U.S. corn growers access to two more valued markets," said David Morgan, president of Syngenta Seeds. "Along with a growing list of available export markets, growers can anticipate an unprecedented level of insect control by using Agrisure Viptera trait technology."

With the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack, American corn growers have an in-seed defense against multi-pest complex insects, including corn earworm, fall armyworm, Western bean cutworm, black cutworm, dingy cutworm, common stalk borer and sugarcane borer, among others. 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 quality1. Corn earworm, which historically has had no viable control solution, is highly susceptible to the Agrisure Viptera trait2. In recent field trials, the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack outperformed other triple stacks by 14.3 bu/A3 under significant corn earworm pressure and up to 32 bu/A4 under heavy pressure.

The Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack is able to provide such extensive insect control because of Vip3A, the industrys first non-Cry (non-crystalline) insect control protein. Vip3A has demonstrated highly effective control of the multi-pest complex, creates new options for insect resistance management (IRM) and will serve as the platform for 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 the trait is approved for import to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the Philippines, Japan and Taiwan. In addition to Mexico and the Philippines, the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack and the Agrisure Viptera 3110 trait stack are approved for import into Canada and Japan.

Agrisure Viptera technology is available in hybrids from the Syngenta seed brands of Garst, Golden Harvest and NK 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.