Glyphosate production hit by technical issues

IN BRIEF

WORLD: German chemical firm Bayer has entered into an agreement with Canadian agriculture biotech company MustGrow to commercialise bio-pesticides from foodgrade mustard seeds, which harbour natural defence mechanisms against diseases and pests, Biomarket Insights reports.

MustGrow said it had conducted field trials in North and South America showing its patented TerraMG preplant soil bio-fumigant products were effective against pests in multiple crops.

The compounds within TerraMG reacted to produce allyl isothiocyanate, which disrupted cell function in target pests. The product also used a molecule called ionic thiocyanate (SCN-) which, when absorbed, starved a plant of iron, an essential nutrient.

Under the deal, Bayer would test MustGrow’s products and also had the option to acquire exclusive rights to MustGrow technologies for pre-plant soil fumigation, bio-herbicide applications, and post-harvest potato preservation in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. In return, Bayer would fund MustGrow’s laboratory and regulatory work, plus field and market development for commercialisation.

ISRAEL: The investment arm of German chemical and biotech giant BASF and Orbia Ventures are investing in Israeli biotech start-up FortePhest to develop technology to combat herbicide-resistant weeds and invasive plants. FortePhest had developed proprietary herbicides which disrupted the homeostasis of free amino acids in plant cells and selectively targeted a weed’s meristems, stopping shoot and root development without harm to corn, wheat and other crops, the two firms said on 10 February.

Glyphosate production hit by technical issues

German chemical giant Bayer has said production of its glyphosate-based weedkiller may be reduced in the short term due to one of its ingredient suppliers running into technical problems, Reuters reported on 14 February.

The “mechanical failure” experienced by Bayer’s supplier coincided with a tight supply situation in global crop chemical markets, partly due to the global COVID pandemic, Bayer added.

A Bayer spokesperson would not disclose the name of the supplier or the ingredient affected, Reuters wrote, declining to comment further on any impact on deliveries to customers.

The active ingredient in Bayer brands such as Roundup and RangerPro – glyphosate – has been the subject of lawsuits in the USA mostly brought by residential gardeners claiming the weedkiller caused their cancer. The company had settled around 100,000 cases costing billions of dollars and petitioned the US Supreme Court for legal relief, building its case mainly on repeated safety clearances given by the federal environmental regulator, the report said.

In a letter seen by Reuters, Bayer announced the supply issue to industrial customers using glyphosate, declaring force majeure, which typically suspends a supplier’s contractual liabilities following disruptions beyond its control.

In the letter, Bayer said repairs at its supplier would take about three months.

The spokesperson said the manufacturing issue would also affect in-house production of its own glyphosate-containing brands such as Roundup.

Protein gene in soyabean identified

A research team at the University of Illinois, USA, has identified the gene that affects protein in soyabeans following a 30-year search, Seedworld wrote on 15 February.

“Soyabeans are around 40% protein, and this gene increases that by about 2%. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but compared to any other seed protein gene that’s been mapped for soyabean, it’s at least double,” said Brian Diers, the Charles Adlai Ewing chair of Soybean Genetics and Breeding in the Department of Crop Sciences and co-author of the study.

Study co-author Matt Hudson, Professor of Bioinformatics in Crop Sciences, said if the high protein form of the gene could be placed into commercially-grown soya varieties, it would lead to a significant increase in protein for livestock and humans worldwide.

The identified Glyma.20G85100 gene appeared to be part of the soyabean

Calyxt says seedless hemp offered improved yields and quality Soya protein is used in both human food and livestock products

plant’s circadian machinery; the way the plant keeps track of time to maximise photosynthesis during the day, work out when to flower and set seed, and many other processes, Diers said.

Bayer re-applies to plant GM cotton in India

German chemical firm Bayer has re-applied to plant its genetically-modified (GM) cotton seeds in India, Krishi Jagran magazine reported government sources as saying.

Global seed company Monsanto – prior to its 2018 acquisition by Bayer – had withdrawn an application for the GM Bollgard II Roundup Ready Flex (RRF) cotton variety in late 2016, following a range of government measures against it, the 11 February report said.

Bayer – which paid around US$63bn for Monsanto – had resubmitted the application for Bollgard II RRF in December through its local joint venture partner, according to the sources who asked not to be identified.

The approval process could take several years and it was not clear when it would start, the sources said.

“Our efforts are aimed at increasing crop productivity, doubling farmer incomes and making Indian agriculture sustainable and globally competitive,” Bayer said in a statement.