Monsanto, Dow Collaborate On Eight-Stack Corn

Avatar for Matt Hopkins By Scott C. Lucas|20 September 2007

“By bringing together the two companies that have developed and commercialized the trait technologies widely used in agriculture today, we can provide farmers an ‘all-in-one’ answer to demands for comprehensive yield protection from weed and insect threats,” said Carl Casale, executive vice president of strategy and operations for Monsanto.

“The combination of these trait technologies signals the start of the next generation of products with improved plant protection and yield increases for the farmer,” said Jerome Peribere, president and CEO of Dow AgroSciences.

Under the agreement, the companies will create a novel seed offering that combines eight different herbicide tolerance and insect-protection genes into top-performing hybrids for the most complete control ever available. The product will include the companies’ insect protection systems, including Dow AgroSciences’ Herculex I and Herculex RW technologies; Monsanto’s YieldGard VT Rootworm/RR2 and YieldGard VT PRO technologies; and the two established weed control systems, Roundup Ready and Liberty Link.

Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences will use SmartStax as the brand to serve as the commercial trademark for sales and trait licensing. Both parties will cross-license, under royalty-bearing agreements, their respective insect protection systems as well as the two leading weed control systems.

The global agreements should pave the way for the introduction of SmartStax in the US by the end of the decade, following regulatory approvals. Monsanto will represent SmartStax for both parties for joint third-party licensing. Both parties will retain the right to independently stack additional trait technologies and combinations with SmartStax.

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Both parties will cross-license germplasm to their seed brands for a 10-year period under royalty-bearing agreements to create exclusive new hybrid combinations which would not otherwise exist. These brands include Monsanto’s national corn seed brand, DEKALB, and regional seed brands sold by American Seeds, Inc.; as well as Dow AgroSciences’ Mycogen corn seed brand.

Multi-Gene Protection
SmartStax will combine eight modes-of-action in multiple traits and provide season-long yield protection in three areas:

  • Above-ground insect control: Combining Dow AgroSciences’ proven Herculex I with Monsanto’s second-generation corn-borer control trait, YieldGard VT PRO, SmartStax will provide comprehensive protection against corn borers as well as established and emerging insects including corn earworm, fall armyworm, western bean cutworm, and black cutworm.
  • Below-ground insect control: Combining Dow AgroSciences’ Herculex RW technology and Monsanto’s YieldGard VT Rootworm/RR2 technology, SmartStax will provide comprehensive protection against the corn rootworm.
  • Weed control: Bringing together Monsanto’s Roundup Ready 2 system with Liberty Link herbicide tolerance, SmartStax weed control systems will combine the broadest spectrum of weed and grass control with the option of two different modes-of-action, which helps to combat herbicide resistance.

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