Syngenta's new Moddus cereal plant growth regulator launched in Canada

Date:12-03-2020

- Lodging leads to quality losses and reduced yield

- Moddus^® helps strengthen stems to mitigate lodging risk in wheat, barley and oat crops

- Fewer lodged crops help growers avoid harvest delays and additional costs

Syngenta Canada announces the registration of Moddus^®, a new plant growth regulator that helps to mitigate lodging risk in wheat, barley and oats.

Crops that have lodged may suffer lower yields due to poor grain fill and lost grain. Farmers must often contend with delayed harvests, heavier workloads and increased grain cleaning, drying and storage costs. Lodged crops are also more susceptible to disease infection, which impacts quality.

“We know that lodging means major headaches and reduced income,” says Eric Phillips, Fungicides and Insecticides Product Lead with Syngenta Canada. “With Moddus^®, we are providing a solution that improves harvestability, lets growers push for higher yields and ultimately, get more in the bin.”

Moddus^® contains trinexapac-ethyl, an active ingredient with years of proven use to manage lodging in cereal crops around the world.

Moddus^® works by redirecting the plant’s production of gibberellic acid, a hormone responsible for growth, to reduce cell elongation. This results in plants with shorter, thicker stems and improved overall standability.

Phillips says lodging can occur under both favourable, high moisture conditions, or in severe weather, such as heavy winds. Lodging is also influenced by variety selection, soil type, fungal diseases and fertility (nitrogen) rates.

By using Moddus^® to help mitigate their lodging risk, growers will have more freedom to intensively and optimally manage their crop.

“We want growers to be able to push for higher yields and have more freedom to explore other varieties that might have otherwise been impacted by lodging,” says Phillips.

He adds that a stronger-standing cereal crop will help growers get their crop combined faster, resulting in a more efficient harvest.

Moddus^® will be available for the 2021 growing season.