New Bayer products focus on corn rootworm control, short-stature corn

CHICAGO — The corn rootworm is a billion-dollar bug that costs farmers significant losses in yield and revenue.

“According to the crop protection network coalition of scientists from land-grant universities, the corn rootworm is the No. 1 pest for growing corn and it costs as much damage as $1 billion or more of lost revenue to farmers who have to deal with this pest on an annual basis,” said Scott Stein, North America corn product lead for Bayer.

The pest compromises the roots of the plant and can result in a mess to harvest if wind and thunderstorms cause the plants to lodge.

“With the roots compromised, the plant is not getting the moisture and nutrients it needs to help facilitate maximum yield,” said Stein during a presentation at the Regenerative Crop Systems for a Changing Planet — Bayer Innovation Update 2024 event.

“Three rings of roots typically form on a corn plant under ground, and even if one of those rings is compromised, you are looking at least a 15% yield loss,” he said.

For example, if the field produces 200-bushel corn, a 15% yield loss is 30 bushels. Thirty bushels times $4 per bushel equals $120 per acre potential loss. So, if a farmer has 1,000 acres of corn, that is a loss of $120,000.

“The severity of this pest can be extreme and corn rootworm is present pretty well everywhere across the Corn Belt,” Stein said.

Several variables impact corn rootworms, including crop rotation.

“Corn planted after corn tends to be at the highest risk,” Stein said. “We help to monitor the adult beetles to understand how dense they are by putting out over 900 locations of traps.”

It is important to proactively plan management of corn rootworms before the corn is planted.

“If you find larvae chewing on the roots, there’s no rescue treatment to control them,” Stein said. “You have to proactively plan the management of this pest before you plant the crop.”

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the first biotech corn rootworm trait.

“We were the first to bring technology to help control this pest and since then we continue to control it with new technologies,” Stein said.

“We introduced SmartStax PRO a few years ago and this year we launched VT4Pro on a half million acres,” he said. “VT4Pro contains a different pest spectrum and it also contains RNAi technology and three modes of action to control above ground pests, including corn earworm, fall armyworm, western cutworm and European corn borer.”

Since the corn rootworm continues to evolve and adapt to new technologies, Stein said, Bayer is in the process of registering its fourth generation corn rootworm trait.

“We expect to launch it in the latter half of the decade,” Stein said.

“It contains two new insecticidal proteins that are highly efficacious against the corn rootworm,” he said. “We’re stacking those proteins in with our RNAi technology to offer a product with multiple modes of action against the corn rootworm that they haven’t seen before.”

Also during the event, Elzandi Oosthuizen, head of crop technology corn, soy and cotton, talked about the Preceon Smart Corn System.

“We want to transform the corn production system and change how growers grow corn,” Oosthuizen said.

“In 2023, we had 365 growers working with us in Europe and North America on more than 30,000 acres to understand the Preceon system,” she said about the short-stature corn.

“More than 80% of the farmers that participated in the Ground Breakers program told us they would plant the Preceon corn system again if they have the opportunity.”

The Preceon system is all about protecting the crop in the field.

“We see about an 80% reduction due to green snap and 50% reduction due to lodging versus tall corn,” Oosthuizen said.

“A big benefit to farmers is extending the in-season access they have to go into the fields with ground equipment to do whatever is needed to optimize and protect the yield potential,” she said.

Bayer is co-creating with farmers.

“The Ground Breakers program is a unique opportunity to bring in farmers to work with us to provide feedback,” Oosthuizen said. “In 2024, we are working with 390 farmers in 446 fields that include 35,000 acres.”

The short-stature corn has about a 30% reduction in plant length compared to tall hybrids.

“The difference comes in the length of the internodes,” Oosthuizen said.

“In breeding, we find below the ear, the internodes are closer together and above the ear we see larger distances between the internodes similar to tall plants,” she said.

“For the biotech version, the internodes are consistently closer across the full length of the plant.”

In 2024, Bayer is doing a limited commercial introduction of the Preceon Smart Corn System in North America.

“In 2025 and 2026, we will do limited target commercial program and after 2026 we will focus on scaling it up,” Oosthuizen said.