A key component of BASF’s focus on the development of crops that deliver higher yields and improved resistance to stress conditions is a collaboration with Monsanto, USA, for key row crops such as soybeans and corn. Both companies have jointly developed the first genetically modified drought tolerant corn, Genuity® DroughtGard™ Hybrids. It received approval for cultivation in the US at the end of 2011 and was in Monsanto’s Ground BreakersSM trials in 2012. The full commercialization is expected in 2013/14.
New research and development activities for fungal resistant corn will be located at BASF Plant Science’s global headquarters in Research Triangle Park (RTP), North Carolina, USA. Field testing sites will be located in North Carolina and in the Midwest region of the US.The company builds upon its technology platform for fungal resistance in soybeans in Limburgerhof, Germany.
The company will discontinue the pursuit of regulatory approvals for the Fortuna, Amadea, and Modena potato projects in Europe. They say, continued investment cannot be justified due to uncertainty in the regulatory environment and threats of field destructions.
BASF Plant Science will no longer pursue research and development activities into Nutritionally Enhanced Corn in the US. This will result in the closure of six field sites in Olivia, Minnesota, Henderson, Nebraska, Weldon and Sycamore, Illinois, Estherville, Iowa, and one of two sites in Ames, Iowa. In total, around 40 positions will be eliminated.
- BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany
