For every plant that grows in a field, there are plenty of things that may prevent if from growing healthily. Our crops must contend with up to 10,000 species of insects, 3,000 types of nematodes, and 50,000 diseases caused by bacteria, fungi and viruses. Bayer says that to help farmers facing these major challenges, the company offers a number of biological crop protection products. The company will present its latest biological innovations at this year's Annual Biocontrol Industry Meeting (ABIM).
According to Bayer, the conference is the most important industry meeting for manufacturers of organic crop protection products and will take place from October 21 to 23 in Basel, Switzerland. For three days, the focus will be on trends in research and development, innovations in the biologics market and novel biological products for environmentally conscious and sustainable crop protection. The congress is organized by the International Biocontrol Manufacturers' Association (IBMA) and the Swiss Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL). Bayer will have a booth at the fair and present its product portfolio.
Over the past ten years, the use of biologicals has increased significantly by approximately 10 to 15 percent every year and is expected to continue growing, Bayer says, adding that there are many reasons for this growth, including innovations that have made new products easier to discover, safer and more effective to use. But one of the main reasons is that biologicals provide another way of controlling pests.
An important goal for Bayer is to find the right partners to further expand the biologicals market together. In June for example, Bayer and AlphaBio Control signed a distribution agreement to market Flipper™, an innovative biological pest control product developed by AlphaBio. Under the terms of this agreement, AlphaBio grants Bayer an almost worldwide exclusive right to commercialize Flipper™ for agriculture and non-agriculture uses.
“Bayer is committed to reducing agriculture’s ecological footprint through innovation, including biological and low-residue solutions such as Flipper™,” said Liam Condon, Member of the Board of Management of Bayer AG and President of the Crop Science Division. Bayer is open to foster partnerships with manufacturers of biologicals in order to be able to offer farmers more efficient integrated solutions tailored to their needs, Karl Muenks, Segment Manager Biologicals at Bayer, added.
Innovation will cut the ecological footprint of Bayer’s agricultural portfolio fundamentally by 2030, the company recently said. With its solutions, Bayer claims it will reduce the environmental impact of crop protection by 30 percent without sacrificing yield and the health of the harvest. This will be achieved by developing new technologies that help farmers to scale down crop protection product volumes and enable a more precise application.
Bayer for example is partnering with private and public institutions to advance the understanding of the soil microbiome and identify beneficial microbial strains from different environments around the world.
Among recently launched products is Bayer’s BioRise™ Corn offering in North America. According to the company, it is a new seed treatment designed to increase the functional root volume as well as water and nutrient uptake of corn plants by enhancing the colonization of beneficial mycorrhizal bacteria in their root systems.
For more information:
Holger Elfes
Bayer
Ph: +49 2173 38-3270
holger.elfes@bayer.com
www.bayer.com