Syngenta Thrive

by

Syngenta AgriPro® brand wheat, which boasts the best wheat research network in North America, is going through an exciting transition, says Carlos Iglesias, Ph.D., the company’s head of North America wheat breeding. The current work, which is taking place at different regional centers and is coordinated from the Syngenta Wheat Center of Excellence in Junction City, Kansas, may soon revolutionize the way wheat is grown.

“We are moving from developing leading conventional varieties to commercializing wheat hybrids,” Iglesias says. “We have gone through a proof of concept protocol, which has been successful, and now we’re developing the technology to launch the first hybrids by the end of this decade.”

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

Most researchers agree that hybrid wheat, produced by crossing two pure lines, is the key to increasing wheat yields. That’s because the resulting hybrid generally has higher yield potential and consistency than either of its parents. Higher-yielding wheat is something the world will demand, as populations grow through the middle of this century. The World Bank estimates the output of wheat will have to climb by 60 percent from 2000 to 2050 to meet rising demand, and we are well positioned to meet that challenge.

Syngenta breeders are doing their part by re-engineering wheat from a self-pollinated crop into one that can be cross-pollinated reliably and efficiently. “We need hybrids that will deliver sustained performance improvement,” Iglesias says. “There is great expectation around hybrid wheat, and we are confident we will succeed in bringing superior hybrids to the market that will help our customers succeed and enhance the world’s capacity to feed a growing population.”

by

Lee Townsend cringes when he hears media reports linking broad bee health maladies to the labeled use of neonicotinoids, especially since there’s no scientific research to back up the claims.

“If you’re hearing about neonicotinoids and the demise of bees, you’re only hearing one side of the story,” says Townsend, vice president of TPLR Honey Farms in Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada. “All this doom and gloom is not representative of the beekeeping industry.”

While neonicotinoids have been blamed for unpredictable bee deaths, and European commissioners passed a two-year restriction on neonicotinoids, years of independent monitoring show neonicotinoids, when used properly, do not harm the health of bee populations.

“When you really dig into bee health, you’ll find it’s primarily a management issue,” says Townsend, who has kept honey bees for 25 years. “If you keep bees strong and healthy with proper nutrition and disease control, the bees will take care of themselves.”

Townsend appreciates new research that’s balancing the debate on neonicotinoids, which are currently under review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR). Commissioned by Syngenta, Bayer CropScience, and Valent U.S.A., with support from Mitsui Agrochemicals, Inc., a series of comprehensive reports from AgInfomatics, LLC, an independent agricultural consulting firm, reveals some surprising facts about neonicotinoids in North American agriculture.

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

“Not only did our reports show the value of neonicotinoids, but they highlighted a number of unintended consequences if neonicotinoids weren’t available,” says Pete Nowak, Ph.D., principal and co-founder of AgInfomatics. He is also the former chair and a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute for Environmental Studies.

Counting the Cost

Neonicotinoids were introduced in the late 1990s as an alternative to organophosphate and pyrethroid pesticides, and quickly became popular among growers because of their excellent pest control. In the fall of 2013, the AgInfomatics team began evaluating neonicotinoid use in the U.S. and Canada on commodity crops (including corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, sorghum and canola) and specialty crops (including citrus, vegetables and grapes), plus turf, ornamentals and landscapes.

The researchers surveyed more than 22,000 growers, consumers and applicators in the U.S. and Canada, and reviewed in-depth pesticide use information. “Neonicotinoid seed treatments are among the most valued insect control methods in North America,” says Paul Mitchell, Ph.D., a consultant for AgInfomatics and associate professor of agricultural economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “U.S. corn and soybean growers estimate neonicotinoids’ value at $12 to $13 an acre on average, while the total value of neonicotinoids in U.S. crop production ranges from $4 billion to $4.3 billion annually for the U.S. economy.”

Unintended Consequences

AgInformatics also looked at what would happen if neonicotinoids were no longer available. The study revealed many unforeseen effects, including:

  • Reduced yields. Without neonicotinoids, growers would be denied a proven, convenient method to effectively control yield-robbing pests, such as Asian citrus psyllid, aphids, whiteflies, Colorado potato beetle, wireworms, seed maggots and white grubs.
  • Higher insecticide use. Without neonicotinoids, acres treated with older, more toxic insecticides would roughly triple. In addition, findings in the reports project that the total number of pounds of active ingredients in insecticides applied to crops would increase from 13 million to 28.2 million pounds, a 116 percent increase, Mitchell notes.
  • Greater pest control challenges and resistance issues. Populations of invasive pests, like whiteflies in the southwestern U.S., will likely rise if neonicotinoids aren’t available, Nowak says. Similar trends will also occur with Asian citrus psyllid, a pest that transmits the deadly citrus greening disease, which is threatening productive trees in Florida. If pest outbreaks become more common and there are limited options then insecticide-resistance issues will also be a greater concern, says Nowak.
  • Increased operating costs. If neonicotinoids were unavailable, growers estimate that the average cost per treated acre would increase more than $8.30 for corn, $3.30 for soybeans and more than $2.20 for cotton. For a variety of different crops, this creates a projected total net cost increase of $848 million per year, captured in everything from increased spending on insecticides to costlier application methods, Mitchell says.
  • Lower-quality agricultural products. Today’s consumers are used to selecting unblemished fruits and vegetables. “A major East Coast producer and big-box-store supplier that recently tried to go without neonicotinoids learned the hard way how this can lead to more insect damage and less marketable products,” Nowak says.
  • Higher food costs. More insect damage and higher production costs will translate into rising prices at the grocery store, especially for meat, dairy and eggs, because of higher feed costs, Mitchell says.
  • Harm to beneficial insects and integrated pest management (IPM). Many growers rely on neonicotinoid seed treatments to provide targeted, systemic control that reduces the risk of insecticide exposure to beneficial insects. “IPM will suffer without the beneficial insects,” Nowak says.

Many of these unintended consequences are reportedly already occurring in the European Union, which started restricting neonicotinoids in December 2013. “There was a tremendous flea beetle outbreak in the canola-growing regions of northern Europe this fall,” says Caydee Savinelli, Ph.D., pollinator and IPM stewardship lead for Syngenta. “Growers had to spray about every week and were still losing about 20 percent to 30 percent of the crop.”

Banning neonicotinoids is not a science-based decision, because it does not address the complex interplay between crop production and beekeeping, according to a 2011 study. Jerry Bromenshenk, Ph.D., a research director at the University of Montana and CEO of Bee Alert Technology, and his fellow bee investigators fed various levels of neonicotinoids to clusters of honey-bee hives in Montana to study their effect on bee health. While improper use can lead to individual bee losses, the team did not see any effects on the hive as a whole. “It’s clear that neonicotinoids provide a better alternative than any insecticides that have been used before,” says Bromenshenk.

''

Neonicotinoid seed treatments are among the most valued insect control methods in North America. U.S. corn and soybean growers estimate neonicotinoids’ value at $12 to $13 an acre on average, while the total value of neonicotinoids in U.S. crop production ranges from $4 billion to $4.3 billion annually for the U.S. economy.

Paul Mitchell

Taking the Next Steps

These facts are useful to the regulatory debate, so Syngenta has submitted AgInfomatics’ socioeconomic findings on behalf of the study sponsors to the EPA, the USDA, CDPR and PMRA in Canada. “We need to ensure that the benefits neonicotinoids provide to growers are captured and growers’ voices are heard,” says John Abbott, senior regulatory affairs team lead for Syngenta. “If we don’t speak up, we run the risk of a decision based on politics, not science.”

Abbott encourages retailers and growers to visit the Growing Matters website, which provides all 15 study reports, videos, fact sheets and infographics on the benefits of neonicotinoids, as well as tips on how to show support for these valuable crop protection products.

Townsend supports these efforts. “We don’t want to cripple the opportunities to grow safe, bountiful crops. We need to work together to find common solutions to common issues in agriculture.”

by

“Many a boogeyman has spooked citrus growers over the years,” says John Taylor, coastal agronomic service representative for Syngenta. “But citrus greening and its impact on the industry isn’t folklore. It has the potential to put people out of business.”

Citrus greening, or Huanglongbing (HLB), is a systemic bacterial disease that has ravaged the citrus industries in India, China and Southeast Asia for decades. Currently, there is no cure, and citrus trees that contract the disease die in as little as five years. With symptoms that initially look very similar to nutrient deficiencies, HLB often goes undetected. By the time it is properly diagnosed, the disease has often spread to many of the surrounding trees.

Hard-to-Detect Symptoms

For U.S. growers, HLB is threatening the heart of citrus production, including Florida, Texas and, most recently, California. Because the disease has inflicted significant damage in the Florida market with 2012 yield losses hovering around 15 percent, growers in Texas and California are on high alert.

When it comes to fighting HLB, growers face some unique challenges. For starters, HLB-infected citrus trees do not show symptoms during the first year of infection, so there is a long period of time when a grower cannot visually detect an infected tree—but the tree is still a source of bacteria that can spread to other trees via the Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri).

Once symptoms begin to manifest, they can resemble common nutrient deficiencies. Leaf yellowing, misshapen fruit that do not ripen, premature fruit drop and root dieback are all symptoms of HLB, which is caused by the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter L. asiaticus. The bacterial infection impedes the tree’s vascular system and inhibits the movement of nutrients.

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

A Dangerous Pair

Interestingly, these menacing bacteria need help to spread. “The bacterium can live and persist in a plant. But until it comes in contact with a vector, nothing really happens,” says Jim Graham, Ph.D., professor of soil microbiology at the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. “Unfortunately, that can create a period when many people do not realize the disease is on their doorstep.” However, when a vector, such as the Asian citrus psyllid, interacts with the HLB-causing bacteria, their union can quickly cause a major epidemic in the citrus industry.

The reproductive and feeding habits of the psyllid make it the perfect carrier of the bacterium. An infected or “hot” psyllid creates a localized infection when it feeds and transmits the bacterium into a citrus tree. It does not take long for the bacterium to spread throughout the plant, but the inoculum is first concentrated in the leaves and stems where the infected psyllid feeds. Female psyllids lay eggs in the same region where they feed. If these females are infected, their nymphs, which begin feeding in the infected area of the tree when they hatch, eventually acquire the bacterium, molt to the winged adult stage and disperse taking it along with them.

Once infected, psyllids are disease carriers for the rest of their lives. They can travel miles under their own power, by air currents or as hitchhikers on harvested fruit. Controlling psyllids has become one of the primary strategies to prevent the spread of HLB.

Managing an Incurable Problem

For now, there is no cure for HLB, and no resistant citrus varieties are available. Management is difficult, but certain strategies can slow the spread of the disease. These include planting disease-free nursery stock, removing infected trees, managing psyllids and promoting root health.

To make sure growers begin with HLB-free citrus trees, Florida has established a production model where all citrus seedlings must be produced in enclosed greenhouses. The overall U.S. citrus nursery industry is moving in that direction as well.

Identifying and removing infected trees are big challenges. In Florida, the disease was so widespread by the time it was detected, eradication was impractical. In California and Texas, researchers are pursuing more efficient ways to detect the disease in trees not yet exhibiting symptoms and are hoping early awareness of HLB will prevent the rapid advancement of the disease that Florida has faced.

The Way Forward

Neonicotinoid insecticides are one option for psyllid management. Growers and applicators can make neonicotinoid applications to the soil and as a foliar spray to suppress psyllids. But, as Elizabeth Grafton-Cardwell, Ph.D., entomologist and director of the Lindcove Research and Extension Center for the University of California, Riverside, points out, “The real beauty of neonicotinoids is that they are anti-feedants, so psyllids don’t want to feed on trees treated with them.” This is an important factor in preventing HLB spread, because the psyllid needs to feed to pick up the bacteria.

Taylor recommends that Florida citrus growers soil-apply neonicotinoids every six weeks and in between make foliar applications of insecticides with different modes of action. Thiamethoxam, the active ingredient in Platinum® 75 SG insecticide, is a neonicotinoid with good solubility that allows for faster uptake by trees, which makes it a good choice during those times of year that are a little dry or when trees are less active.

Optimizing root health may also play a role. After initial transmission in the shoots, the HLB pathogen infects roots, where it extensively colonizes. This infection causes rapid fibrous root loss of 27 percent to 40 percent before symptoms in the canopy appear. Studies show that roots infected with Phytophthora ssp. may interact with the root bacterial infection to further damage roots.

To delay crop decline from this dual root disease threat, growers can implement a root health treatment program with Ridomil Gold® SL fungicide. Ridomil Gold has direct fungicidal activity against the Phytophthora root rot disease. Roots rapidly absorb the fungicide, which is then translocated throughout the root system, promoting root health and crop development.

One of the best weapons the citrus industry has against HLB is open communication. Growers and researchers who have experienced the disease are willing to share advice about what works and what does not.

“We’re fortunate in this industry to have so many educational opportunities and ways of getting information on HLB,” says Joby Sherrod, research & development/ technical services manager for A. Duda & Sons, Inc. “My advice? Be proactive. Do everything you can to detect HLB as early as possible and remove the infected trees, if feasible, all while managing the psyllid down to the lowest population levels possible.”

Lessons from Brazil

Citrus greening, or Huanglongbing (HLB), has impacted Brazilian citrus since 2004 when researchers first detected the disease in the southeastern part of the country. Marcos Pozzan, stewardship manager and citrus specialist in Brazil for Syngenta, has partnered with local experts and growers to help develop the country’s HLB management strategy. “We work with three pillars, none more important than the other: Produce healthy trees, manage the vector, and eliminate the inoculum source or the infected trees as soon as possible,” he says.

The U.S. citrus industry now uses much of this strategy. For example, Florida adopted Brazil’s greenhouse production infrastructure to ensure seedlings planted into citrus groves are HLB-free. Soil drenches and foliar applications of neonicotinoid insecticides play a key role in managing psyllids in both Brazil and the U.S.

The large size of Brazilian citrus farms led to the implementation of area-wide management strategies, with some encouraging results. Jim Graham, Ph.D., professor of soil microbiology at the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center, describes a success story of a 14,000-acre Brazilian citrus farm that identified and removed infected trees. The farm treated its citrus, as well as the citrus of neighboring farms within two kilometers of its borders, for psyllids. Within one year, the farm cut its HLB incidence from 10 percent per year to less than 2 percent. This example and others like it are encouraging to such areas as California, where HLB has made only an isolated appearance—and Florida, where the disease has made a greater impact.

Still, Graham recommends caution. “Brazil has had Asian citrus psyllids since the 1940s, but it wasn’t until a few years ago the bacterium was introduced and caused an epidemic,” he says. “That shows how quickly it can happen—something worth remembering in citrus-producing areas of the U.S. not yet facing this epidemic.”

by

Researching tomorrow’s technology for today’s crops is a time-honored tradition at the Vero Beach Research Center (VBRC), where dedicated Syngenta scientists have been unlocking the potential of plants since 1963.

“We not only believe in bringing plant potential to life, we live it,” says Jorge Cisneros, Ph.D., research and development manager at VBRC. “For 50 years, the Vero Beach facility has supported this goal, making us a key research center both in the United States and abroad.”

Syngenta invests more than $1 billion each year in research worldwide, including at VBRC. The facility has earned a reputation for combining the latest technologies with practical, hands-on field testing. Florida’s 12-month growing season allows scientists at the 240-acre center to generate multiple seasons of field data per year for a wide range of crops, including sugar cane, corn, soybeans, cotton, small-grain cereals, citrus, vegetables, and turf and ornamentals.

The region’s subtropical climate, high rainfall and sandy soils also provide ideal conditions for testing compounds for potential use as fungicides, herbicides, nematicides and insecticides. “The weather here is conducive to high pest pressure, which is critical for successful trials,” says Paul Kuhn, Ph.D., senior group leader for the disease control team at VBRC. In addition to its trial-friendly climate, VBRC also boasts several other unique advantages:

Lessons From the Field

The VBRC is one of the few locations within Syngenta worldwide where researchers can conduct studies in the lab, growth chambers, greenhouses and the field at the same time to fully characterize new products and determine how they will perform in commercial applications, Kuhn says. Finding these answers as quickly as possible is important, since CropLife America estimates that a new crop protection product can take 10 years and up to $256 million in development costs to advance from discovery to use in a grower’s fields. VBRC researchers help identify the best new products for growers to use under diverse crop, pest and weather conditions. They also conduct the extensive research required by government regulatory agencies to ensure that new products will be effective for crop producers, as well as safe for people, wildlife and the environment.

MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

Innovative Solutions

Through the years, VBRC scientists have played major roles in the development of key Syngenta brands and technologies. The center is involved in the critical early-stage testing of chemical and biological compounds, including investigating modes of action, identifying their spectrums of activity, determining optimal use rates, and screening for crop safety and environmental impact. “Almost every herbicide that has been registered through Syngenta has come through our facility,” says Cheryl Dunne, group leader for the weed control team at the VBRC. These products include Halex® GT herbicide and other Callisto Plant Technology® brands, as well as the Touchdown® brands and Dual Magnum® herbicides. Scientists at the center also have helped develop a number of disease-fighting products, such as Revus® and Inspire® fungicides and Maxim® Quattro seed-applied fungicide. In addition, VBRC scientists have evaluated the efficacy of many insecticides, including Warrior II with Zeon Technology®, Fulfill® and Actara®.

“We help put tools for pest management into growers’ hands,” says Clark Lovelady, group leader for the insect control team at the VBRC. “We’ve accomplished this by providing quality data and unique observations about the behavior of these compounds through lab assays, greenhouse trials and field studies.”

Solid Support

VBRC scientists go even further to answer questions and fine-tune products once Syngenta introduces them commercially. “We also collaborate with our sales force, retailers and growers to investigate unexpected outcomes and product issues, and we answer their questions quickly,” says Dunne, who has worked at the center since 1988. In addition, the scientists focus on water quality to enhance product efficacy, she adds. “We evaluate herbicide efficacy dependencies on water pH and mineral ion content, for example, so we know what water conditioners growers should use to help our products work efficiently.”

Powerful Partnerships

While Syngenta researchers conduct many tests on site, they also collaborate with university researchers across the country. Mike Owen, Ph.D., an Iowa State University Extension and Outreach weed specialist, appreciates the center’s focus on herbicide resistance management. “VBRC researchers’ collaboration with university researchers is instrumental in moving the discussion forward,” he says. “We can help educate growers through the university system, but we don’t have the leverage to facilitate changes in their behavior. Syngenta can help growers address resistance issues, directing them to diversify their approaches to weed management.”

The stability and low turnover of VBRC’s staff is also a plus, says Jim Graham, Ph.D., a professor of soil microbiology at the University of Florida. He appreciates the VBRC team’s assistance with sampling citrus groves for Phytophthora propagules, based on a protocol developed at the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center to estimate fibrous root damage caused by the fungus. “I’ve worked with colleagues who have been at VBRC for a number of years and have formed working relationships that are valuable to our research program as well as to the Florida citrus industry.”

Connections With the Community

VBRC values its role as a responsible corporate citizen, from its favorable impact on the local economy to its charitable contributions and involvement in the community. “Not everything at VBRC focuses on research,” Cisneros says. “We provide training to colleagues, give tours to visitors, hold workshops and enjoy contributing to our community, from serving as science fair judges at the local school district to providing Christmas gifts to needy children in the area.”

VBRC researchers’ shared philosophy of continuous improvement is another key to success. “With our specialists’ years of experience and wide-ranging areas of expertise, we’ve been able to find an incredible synergy through diversity,” Cisneros says. “Our team believes that world-class science holds the power to find solutions to feed a growing global population and make a positive difference in the world.”