Bayer CropScience Enters Agreement to Improve Cotton Technology
28 December 2011 Bayer CropScience AG has obtained exclusive rights to Performance Plant Inc.’s Heat &Drought Tolerance Technology for cotton.
Bayer will leverage this agreement with the Canadian company to develop the breakthrough technology, which preserves yield by enhancing plants’ tolerance to heat, drought or combined stress. HDT plants achieved significantly higher yields when faced with periods of hot and dry growing conditions in the critical stages of development, according to the companies.
This is the second research and commercial agreement both companies have entered into with each other within the last two years. In 2009, Bayer licensed PPI’s leading Yield Protection Technology (YPT) for their product development and commercialization of drought-tolerant cotton.
All PPI technologies target different mechanisms such as heat and drought tolerance, water use efficiency, yield enhancement and biomass accumulation. Due to this diverse range, PPI’s biotech traits can be combined or stacked into a single plant variety for genetic and agronomic improvements of all staple crops.
“We anticipate that Performance Plants’ innovative technology will contribute to further strengthening our leadership position in the global cotton market, especially with regard to ensuring higher yields in difficult climatic conditions,” said Dr. Frank Schmidt, Head of Research BioScience for Bayer CropScience in a statement. “Their technology fits well with our strategy to explore multiple approaches to drought tolerance in order to bring the most effective, high-performance trait solutions to market to help farmers tackle this global challenge.”
Source: Bayer CropScience, Edited by Stefanie A. Toth, Web Editor
Get The Newsletter Today!
