New corn technology adds greater flexibility

JOHNSTON, Iowa — Corteva Agriscience unveiled a new Enlist corn technology of above-ground pest control products during its Media Day on July 14 at Pioneer’s headquarters.

Pioneer’s PowerCore Enlist corn is a comprehensive trait package designed for season-long insect protection and weed control and will be introduced as an integrated refuge offering, PowerCore Enlist Refuge Advanced corn.

Additionally, when commercially available, the new PowerCore Ultra Enlist corn is expected to deliver an extra mode of action for geographies that need added protection and also will be available with integrated refuge as PowerCore Ultra Enlist Refuge Advanced corn.

Adam Theis, Pioneer corn marketing lead, said the PowerCore suite will be a transition from AcreMax to PowerCore.

PowerCore Enlist Refuge Advanced hybrids will be commercialized this fall, followed with expanded access for the 2023 planting season.

“We will rapidly expand the relative maturity offerings the hybrid offers and then the geographical offerings in 2024, 2025 and 2026,” Theis said.

PowerCore Ultra Enlist will be available for expanded acres in 2024.

“PowerCore Enlist is an advanced combination of elite genetics, diverse genetics and exclusive genetics in the Pioneer brand, coupled with above-ground pest control and with the four modes-of-action herbicide tolerance,” Theis noted.

“When you put that together it gives farmers a chance to have high yield potential, sound agronomics, clean fields and because of that herbicide tolerance, happier neighbors with the herbicide plan.”

PowerCore Enlist corn, as both structured refuge and integrated Refuge Advanced options, is stacked with three modes of action for enhanced control over the toughest above-ground pests, including susceptible European corn borer, fall armyworm, southwestern corn borer and corn earworm.

When commercially available, the new PowerCore Ultra Enlist corn will bring an additional mode of action for acres in geographies that need extra protection from higher pressure of above-ground pests like fall armyworm and western bean cutworm.

“It’s really a comprehensive approach to insect protection with PowerCore Enlist. It is efficacious on many of the primary and secondary targeted insects across the U.S. Corn Belt,” Theis added.

Herbicide Options

The Enlist corn trait allows for weed management flexibility with tolerance to 2,4-D choline, glyphosate, glufosinate and “fop” — Aryloxyphenoxy-propionate chemical family — herbicides.

“Another major benefit of PowerCore Enlist that Pioneer customers will experience is the flexibility on herbicides that they don’t have today. Glyphosate and glufosinate are known and established herbicide-tolerances in corn lineups today. We’re going to be introducing Enlist corn to fop tolerance in the Pioneer brand,” Theis said.

Enlist herbicides feature near-zero volatility and reduced potential for physical drift when applied according to label instructions, with no calendar cutoff dates or time-of-day restrictions.

In addition, a wide application window — to 30-inch corn, or 48-inch corn if applied using drop nozzles — enables the use of Enlist herbicides to control late-season broadleaf weeds, according to Theis.

PowerCore Enlist corn will be available in a diverse lineup of high yield potential genetics across a wide range of maturities in both integrated refuge — Refuge Advanced — and structured refuge options.

By the mid- to late-2020s, PowerCore Enlist Refuge Advanced corn and PowerCore Ultra Enlist Refuge Advanced corn will become the lead offerings from Corteva for above-ground pest acres.