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EU proposes new rules to
IN BRIEF
GLOBAL: German chemical and biotech giant BASF has entered a long-term global collaboration with crop protection and biotech seed producer Corteva Agriscience to develop new soyabean weed control solutions.
As part of the partnership, the companies said on 30 August that they would cross-license soyabean traits and develop complementary herbicide technologies to develop bespoke weed control options.
Corteva said it would combine a proprietary PPO (protoporphyrinogen oxidase) gene licensed from BASF with its portfolio of herbicide tolerant traits to develop a new trait stack for soyabeans.
USA: German chemical giant Bayer has acquired a majority share of US pennycress start-up company CoverCress Inc (CCI) after signing a shareholders’ agreement with Bunge and Chevron, Bayer announced.
Under the agreement, Bayer acquires a 65% majority share of CCI, with Bunge and Chevron retaining a 35% share, according to the 1 August statement.
CCI uses breeding and gene editing to convert field pennycress, a winter annual weed, into the CoverCress crop that fits into existing corn and soyabean rotation and can provide cover, reduce nitrogen loss and improve overall soil health.
EU proposes new rules to halve pesticide use
The European Commission (EC) has proposed new rules to halve pesticide use in the European Union (EU) by 2030, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) wrote.
Proposed by the EC on 22 June, the new regulation on the sustainable use of Plant Protection Products (SUR) aims to reduce pesticide use and potential risk to human health and the environment across member states, according to the 13 July Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
Designed to encourage the reduction of pesticides through integrated pest management and the use of alternatives to chemical pesticides, the proposals are in line with the EC’s ambitions under the European Green Deal and the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy.
The EC’s approach to reducing the use and risk from pesticides by 50% is to set targets to which member states contribute, with three proposed options ranging from non-legally binding targets at the EU level to legally binding at the EU and member state level.
“The preferred scenario is to prohibit the use of all chemical pesticides in sensitive areas. As for the reduction targets, the preferred option would be to have the 50% reduction targets become legally binding at the EU level, while member states would set their own national reduction targets using established criteria,” the report said.
New oil palm hybrid launched in India
Leading Indian oil palm company 3F Oil Palm has announced the launch of a new high-yield oil palm hybrid in the country, The Hindu BusinessLine reported.
Imported from Malaysia and Costa Rica by 3F Oil Palm, the new three-way crossed hybrid, could reduce yield time from 36 months to 24 months, the company said in the 8 August report.
The company said it planned to plant 5,000-7,500ha with the new hybrid saplings, initially to farmers in Andhra Pradesh state ahead of the 2022/23 season.
“We have entered into an agreement with a couple of players in Malaysia and Costa Rica. Under this agreement, our scientists worked with them to develop the seedlings that suit our weather conditions,” 3F Oil Palm CEO and managing director Sanjay Goenka was quoted as saying.
The new releases included CALIX Q6, which was produced in Malaysia by Sime Darby Plantation (Sime Darby) and helped plants withstand high temperatures. 3F Oil Palm also planned to double its production capacity to 150 tonnes/ hour in the next two years.
While the standard oil palm yield time is 36 months, 3F Oil Palm says Calyxt says seedless hemp offered improved yields and quality its new hybrid can reduce this to to 24 months
Camelina seed company Sustainable Oils has announced a licensing agreement for CRISPR-Cas9 and related gene editing tools with crop protection and biotech seed producer Corteva Agriscience and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
Under the agreement, Sustainable Oils would use the technology to create targeted changes to camelina DNA and incorporate new traits such as high oil yield, quick maturity, herbicide tolerance and drought tolerance, the company said on 8 August.
Sustainable Oils said the technology would lead to shorter development timelines and lower costs compared to traditional breeding methods. "We are excited to add CRISPR-Cas9 technology to… our camelina breeding practices,” Sustainable Oils chief scientific officer Dr Jerry Feitelson said. “Using this... plant breeding innovation, we expect to further expand our… portfolio of advanced camelina varieties.”
A wholly-owned subsidiary of renewable fuels company Global Clean Energy, Sustainable Oils produces camelina for use as a non-food, low carbon feedstock for renewable diesel production.
The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard is a bio-medical/genomic research centre.
U.S. Soy has the lowest carbon footprint when compared with soy of other origins.
U.S. Soy farmers are committed to advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We are leading the way by producing more while using fewer resources, implementing farming practices that reduce carbon footprint, and helping to preserve forestland. Since 1980, U.S. Soy farmers have: • Increased soy production, using roughly • Improved GHG emissions efficiency the same amount of land by 130% per bushel by 43% • Improved water use efficiency • Improved soil conservation per bushel by 60% per acre by 34% • Improved land use efficiency • Improved energy use efficiency per bushel by 48% per bushel by 46%
From 1982–2017, the U.S. increased forest land by 2.1 million hectares and reduced crop land by 21.4 million hectares. But we won ’t stop there. U.S. Soy farmers ’ ongoing commitment to sustainability enables you to produce food, feed, energy and other products to support a healthy society, even as we preserve the planet for future generations.
See how we’re going further for you, your customers and the planet at ussec.org/sustainability.
