In a February 13 conference call, Bayer management told ag media about the company’s extensive research and development pipeline.
Short-stature corn is in the works — that is, corn plants with shorter stalks, meaning decreased lodging problems and fewer nutrients needed. But for most Prairie farmers, Bayer’s upcoming new herbicide with a brand new mode of action will be the most interesting part of Bayer’s new development program.
This new product, Bayer says, will be the first new herbicide mode of action that’s come to market in 30 years. For now, says Bob Reiter, head of research and development for Bayer’s Crop Science Division, the product is still in development.
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It’s too early for Bayer to give the product a name or commit to a timeline. The company is in “Phase 2” of development with this new MOA, “which means now we’re going into the more intensive human and environmental tests,” Reiter says. There will still be field trials and regulatory approvals to get through. The new product won’t be available until at least the end of this decade.
