Seed company Advanta presented its new Aphix technology, which offers resistance to the Melanaphis sacchari insect in sorghum, during Expoagro Argentina 2023, an event specially covered by AgroPages.
Melanaphis sacchari is one of the pests that most worries Argentine sorghum producers, as it feeds on the nutrients required by the plant, as well as generates an anomaly in the natural growth process.
According to Advanta, ″those who grow sorghum know that this is a seed that can be implanted and, in normal situations, can be left until harvest with almost no control work in the most productive areas of the country.″
″However, the action of this pest makes it necessary to considerably increasing insecticide applications. This has a significant effect on costs and generates unexpected and unnecessary stress,″ it added.
Melanaphis sacchari
With Aphix, Advanta said the aphid, Melanaphis sacchari, stops feeding on sorghum, reproducing in smaller quantities and at a much lower pace.
The company is part of the Argentine Carbon Neutral Program (PACN), which aims to study greenhouse gas emissions to implement good agricultural and manufacturing practices, to reduce these emissions and, therefore, determine the carbon balance in the production process.
″We took part in this program to develop a calculator for sorghum seed production and, of course, we are using it to determine the carbon footprint of Advanta’s sorghum hybrids,″ explained Tomás Sundblad (Director of Development for the Americas).
Francisco Cinque (Commercial Director at Advanta) said that the initiative ″is generating results that allow us to propose concrete and quantifiable measures to improve the sustainability of agriculture and livestock.″
Left: Tomás Sundblad, Director of Development for the Americas at Advanta
Right: Francisco Cinque, Commercial Director at Advanta
Aphix sorghum is a high-tech tool in the fight against Melanaphis sacchari, and sorghum is the crop of the future, he added, stressing, ″It has a positive impact on the environment and its climatic capabilities, due to its high drought tolerance and low water use.″
″We are the world's leading sorghum technology company, growing it in at least 40 countries around the world. It is an essential crop for feeding the world, as we tackle global warming and climate change,″ Sundblad said in conclusion.
(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)
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