For healthy potatoes - Bayer CropScience

COURIER
The Bayer CropScience Magazine for Modern Agriculture 2/06
Confidor with
Stress Shield inside
Biodiversity and Crop
Protection – how the
balance is maintained
For healthy
potatoes:
everything you
need to know
about late blight

Contents
2 The one-stop specialist
for azole fungicides
6 Confidor with
Stress Shield inside
10 Phytophthora infestans:
a pathogen of
global importance
15 Infinito: New, ultimate
protection of potatoes
16 The value of Hybrids
20 Biodiversity and Crop
Protection – how the
balance is maintained
24 Outlook into the future
Global agricultural challenges
and technology developments
28 Protected right from
the beginning
The importance of seed
treatment
The one-stop
Published by: Bayer CropScience AG, Monheim / Editor:
Bernhard Grupp / With contributions from: Agroconcept
GmbH, K. Doughty, A. Holl (free lance journalist) / Design
and Layout: Xpertise, Langenfeld / Lithography: LSD GmbH
& Co. KG, Düsseldorf / Printed by: Dynevo GmbH,
Leverkusen / Reproduction of contents is permissible providing
Bayer is acknowledged and advised by specimen
copy / Editor’s address: Bayer CropScience AG, Corporate
Communications, Alfred-Nobel-Str. 50, 40789 Monheim
am Rhein, Germany, FAX: 0049-2173-383454 / Website:
www.bayercropscience.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements
based on current assumptions and forecasts made by
Bayer CropScience AG management. Various known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead
to material differences between the actual future results,
financial situation, development or performance of the
Bayer CropScience AG or our parent company, Bayer AG,
and the estimates given here. These factors include those
discussed in Bayer AG's public reports filed with the Frankfurt
Stock Exchange and with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (including Bayer AG's Form 20-F).
Neither Bayer AG nor Bayer CropScience AG assumes any
liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements
or to conform them to future events or developments.
for azole
Bayer scientists first synthesized the active ingredient
tebuconazole 25 years ago. The basis for products
such as Folicur ® and Raxil ® , the substance
soon developed into a star in fungicide and seed
treatment markets all over the world. The creation
of tebuconazole further strengthened the position
of Bayer CropScience as an azole expert.
2 COURIER 2/06

specialist
fungicides
Some people search for India and discover
America. Others search for pharmaceuticals
and discover fungicides for crop
protection. Thus, unintended discoveries
can turn out to be ground-breaking. In the
late 1970s, researchers at the Bayer Pharmacology
Department in Wuppertal were
actually looking for new pharmaceutical
azoles. Since most of the substances the
research group synthesized showed more
efficacy in plant protection than in human
health care: their efforts culminated in the
creation of a new substance named tebuconazole,
first synthesized in 1981. At that
time, it was not foreseeable that one day,
tebuconazole would become Bayer’s bestselling
fungicide.
However, the commencement of Bayer’s
azole competence dates back even further
than 1981. The company introduced the
world’s first azole fungicide in 1976:
Bayleton ® . In the following years, triadimefon,
the active ingredient of Bayleton
regularly saved the grain harvest on millions
of hectares of land. In seed treatment,
the novel product Baytan ® – based on triadimenol
– started to replace mercury-containing
mixtures in 1980.
With their azole active ingredients,
Bayleton and Baytan revolutionized fungal
disease control in crops. Most azoles have
systemic properties: they penetrate into the
plant and – depending on the active substance
– are distributed over shorter or
longer distances within its tissues. Thus
both the treated parts, and new shoots and
leaves formed after fungicide application,
are protected for a long time. Furthermore,
azoles have a threefold effect against fungal
pathogens: protection against infection;
cure during the disease incubation period;
and in some cases, eradication of the
disease even after symptoms have become
visible.
2/06 COURIER 3

Azoles inhibit fungal
sterol synthesis
Azoles are organic chemical compounds
containing a five-membered ring structure,
including at least one nitrogen atom. If the
ring contains three nitrogen atoms and two
carbon atoms, one speaks of a triazole. In
the strictest sense, triadimefon, triadimenol,
tebuconazole and all of the other
azole fungicides Bayer has brought onto
the market belong to the class of triazoles.
Because of their mode of action, azole
fungicides are classified as DMIs, sterol
demethylation inhibitors. They block fungal
biosynthesis of sterols, components of
fungal cell membranes that are indispensable
for their stability and function. No
functional sterols – no intact cell membrane
– no fungal growth. Pharmaceutical
azoles act on the same principle.
The invention of tebuconazole meant a
further leap forward in azole development.
Like the older azole fungicides, tebuconazole
interferes with sterol biosynthesis, but
it is active against more fungal pathogens
in a greater number of crops than the earlier
azoles.
Back in August 1981, nobody in the
Bayer pharmacology labs anticipated that
the substance would eventually take the
market by storm. But Bayer had wisely
patented tebuconazole in European countries
and the USA soon after synthesis.
Years of development work followed, now
under the aegis of plant protection specialists
in Monheim. Finally, in 1988, the time
was ripe for market launch: the foliar fungicide
Folicur ® made its debut.
Tailored products
from the Folicur family
Folicur started as a fungicide intended
mainly for cereals. But, step by step, the
product became ever more diversified in
terms of formulation, application range
and mixtures. Today, it is registered and
sold in some 100 countries and applied to
more than 90 different crops. Various formulations
and mixtures are tailored to the
special needs of each crop and country.
Whether for tropical fruits such as mango
or banana, coffee or tea, vegetables in temperate
climates, potatoes, grapes, soybean
or oilseed rape – with its extraordinary
spectrum of activity, Folicur reliably protects
all of these crops against fungal diseases.
As indicated by the Folicur
slogan “It works. Year after year”,
DMI fungicides have been proving
their efficacy for 30 years
now. To preserve the current spectrum-of-control
and the performance
of azoles, guidelines
on Resistance Management
should be followed. One
tool for proactively
managing resistance
is the alternation or
combination of
DMIs with fungicides
from other classes
of active ingredients with different modes
of action. For example, the product
Nativo ® combines tebuconazole with the
strobilurine fungicide trifloxystrobin,
which acts as a respiration inhibitor in the
pathogen. Many other Bayer CropScience
products containing tebuconazole in
mixture with other fungicides that inhibit
different targets are sold around the world.
To name only a few, examples include
Folicur Multi, Falcon ® , Teldor ® combi and
Pronto ® Plus.
As this huge product range only
accounts for foliar fungicides. At the same
time, tebuconazole is being used very successfully
in seed treatment. In the early
1990s, Bayer introduced these products
under the brand of Raxil ® . Today, Raxil is
sold in some 50 countries around the globe
for the control of all of the major soil- and
seed-borne diseases of wheat and barley
seedlings. In Raxil Ultra, tebuconazole
comes at a double concentration; in other
seed treatment products, the fungicide is
mixed with the blockbuster insecticide imidacloprid.
Heavyweights on the
fungicide market
Whether used as a spray, as a seed
treatment or for special applications
such as turf protection or as a wood preservative,
tebuconazole is still a world-class
fungicide – even 25 years after first synthesis.
“Folicur and Raxil can be rightly
regarded as milestones in fungicide development”,
says Horst Stauff, Brand Communication
Manager Fungicides with
Bayer CropScience in Monheim. “And
although nearly twenty years on the market,
both products still represent the state
of the art”, Stauff adds.
With more than 300 million Euro sales
in 2005, Folicur is number two in the Bayer
CropScience portfolio, surpassed only by
the insecticide Confidor ® . “The massive
occurrence of Asian soybean rust in Brazil
gave Folicur another boost quite recently”,
explains Karin Wieczorek, Product Manager
Fungicides.
Taking the share of the world fungicide
market as a marker of success, Bayer Crop-
Science scores very well. Tebuconazole is
one of the world’s best-selling triazoles.
These days, triazoles constitute the most
important group of fungicides, accounting
for around 25 percent of the world market.
Bayer CropScience is highly engaged in
this market, and has constantly been
launching new azoles. After the success of
4 COURIER 2/06

Countries in which tebuconazole-containing products
are registered for use in a wide range of crops.
Bayleton and Baytan, the company introduced
bitertanol, sold as the foliar fungicide
Baycor ® for use in fruit, vegetables
and flowers or as Sibutol ® for seed treatment
in wheat. Tebuconazole was followed
by the development of several other triazoles,
e.g. fluquinconazole, the basis for
products such as Flamenco ® , Palisade ®
and Galmano ® .
The success story goes on
The track record of triazole fungicides
made by Bayer CropScience has certainly
not come to an end yet: the latest development,
leading to the new chemical class of
triazolinthiones, is called prothioconazole.
This new molecule has an extremely broad
spectrum of activity. A wide application
window, rapid uptake of the active substance
by the plant, good rainfastness and
long-lasting activity combine to create a
new dimension in the effective control of
plant diseases.
Since 2004, the substance has been sold
in several countries under the trade name
Proline ® , a spray fungicide, and Redigo ® , a
seed treatment product. Prothioconazole
was first approved in Germany under the
trademark Proline for spray
application and rapidly secured
a large market share there.
Since then, users in a further 16
countries have become convinced
by the outstanding protective and
curative activity of the product. Bayer
CropScience received marketing authorization
for prothioconazole in France in mid-
2006. Fandango ® , a combination of prothioconazole
with the strobilurin fungicide
fluoxastrobin, has been launched in some
European countries and is already wellestablished,
particularly in barley.
In 2005, the prothioconazole-containing
seed treatment product Redigo was
first launched in the UK. It is an easy-tohandle
formulation and meets all of the
requirements and safety standards expected
of a modern crop protection product.
Scenic ® combines prothioconazole, fluoxastrobin
and tebuconazole, and was primarily
created for the premium market in
Europe. Lamardor ® is a new highly-concentrated
formulation containing prothioconazole
and tebuconazole that has been
developed especially for Central and Eastern
Europe.
Increasing spectrum-of-use
Although already a leader in triazoles,
Bayer CropScience is committed to further
improving its fungicides. For new challenges
arising in farming can always call
for new solutions. For instance, Fusarium
spp. has only relatively recently gained significant
importance in cereals. Fusarium
diseases reduce both harvest quantity and
the quality of grains; but most importantly,
several Fusarium species are capable of
producing dangerous mycotoxins that can
affect human and animal health.
For optimal control of Fusarium diseases,
Bayer CropScience has developed
Prosaro ® , a combination of the recentlydeveloped
prothioconazole with the wellestablished
tebuconazole. The rapid initial
efficacy of tebuconazole, along with the
long-lasting efficacy of prothioconazole,
leads to a convincing solution against
Fusarium. So what is the conclusion
Tebuconazole works, year after year, even
after 25 years. ■
2/06 CORREO 5

Confidor with
Stress Shield inside
Effects of the active ingredient
imidacloprid on plant growth
6 COURIER 2/06

Confidor ® is the world’s leading agricultural
insecticide, registered in over 120 countries
and more than 140 crops. It is the key product
of the commercially most important class of
insecticides emerging during the last 20 years,
the chloronicotinyls or CNIs (syn. Neonicotinoids).
Confidor controls a wide range of sucking and
biting insects with low application rates and
long-lasting efficacy.
A new oil-based formulation technology,
named OTEQ ® , now makes it even more
effective and more robust to unfavorable
weather conditions. New research shows
that it actually helps plants to better cope
with abiotic stress situations. That makes
Confidor a reliable and all-around player
in the agricultural world of insecticides for
the upcoming years.
Confidor is the world’s best selling
insecticide and number one Bayer Crop-
Science product. Including seed treatment
and environmental science uses, it generated
€587 million in sales in 2005.
Launched in 1992, it became global market
leader five years later, thanks to the
innovative mode of action of its active
ingredient, imidacloprid, its excellent efficacy
and environmental profile and its versatility.
In the seed treatment segment (when
applied to seeds) the product is marketed
under the trademark Gaucho ® .
Flexible application technology
Confidor offers excellent root systemic
efficacy and plant compatibility. The optimum
usage of these properties can be
obtained by application methods which
work via the root system such as drench,
drip irrigation, in-furrow and float systems.
The stem application of Confidor is
commonly used in crops like citrus and
hops. Confidor also offers good residual
efficacy as a foliar spray. By spraying to
leaves or drenching to roots, stems or
trunks Confidor can be used in more than
140 crops and requires fewer applications
than some competitor products.
In 2006 Bayer CropScience launched a
unique new formulation technology making
its active ingredient even more effective
against sucking insects. Confidor
OTEQ ® is a patented formulation, ensuring
improved foliar adhesion, better penetration
and enhanced rainfastness.
And there’s more. Over the years, farmers
worldwide have noticed that plants treated
with Confidor looked healthier. In 2005,
independent research proved that the product
not only controls insects, but also acts
as a Stress Shield.
Biotic and abiotic stress factors
Plant growth and productivity as well as
the product quality are greatly influenced
by environmental stresses to which plants
are continuously exposed. The optimal
growth and development is far from that
realized in the field or greenhouse.
A major proportion of yield losses in
crop plants is due to so-called abiotic stress
factors, which occur as e.g. drought, flooding,
heat, cold, excessive light, high salt
concentration in soil or ozone in air, to
name a few. There is another group of stressors
namely fungi, bacteria, viruses and
herbivores (insects) causing ‘biotic’ stress.
When record yields are compared with
average yields, the impact of the environment
on plant productivity becomes apparent.
If record yields can be assumed to represent
plant growth under ideal conditions,
then the losses associated with biotic and
abiotic stresses can reduce the yield potential
by up to 80%. Most of the losses are
attributed by far to suboptimal growing conditions
in the environment, i.e. abiotic stress.
2/06 COURIER 7

Improved plant-health
Continuous evaluation of field trials data
indicated that applications of imidacloprid
containing products like Confidor resulted
in increased growth and higher yields even
in the absence of damaging pest species.
Analysis of the growing conditions given
in these trials pointed to environmental
stress factors being involved.
To investigate how imidacloprid-treated
plants do respond and adapt to abiotic
stress conditions, drought stress tests e.g.
with barley plants were developed to study
growth compared to untreated droughtstressed
plants.
It could be shown that the leaf area of
drought-stressed barley plants treated with
imidacloprid increased compared to
untreated plants. Subsequent gene analysis
in barley revealed a delayed production of
drought stress marker genes. Plants from
Yield losses from biotic and abiotic stresses
Yield (kg/ha)
20,000
16,000
12,000
8,000
4,000
0
Corn Wheat Soybean Sorghum Oat Barley
Source: Buchanan, Gruissem, Jones; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Plants;
American Society of Plant Physiologists, 2000
the same tests showed longer lasting
energy production-related gene activity
(photosynthesis), supporting plants with
more energy during drought stress. Surprisingly,
imidacloprid-treated barley
plants also formed more plant own substances
(pathogenesis-related proteins)
associated with the plant’s own defense
mechanism against fungal diseases. The
above genetic findings are paralleled in
further pest-free stress tests proving
increased root development of tomato
plants grown under low oxygen conditions,
a situation which often occurs during infurrow
irrigation or water-based (hydroponic)
cultivation systems. Finally, it could
be confirmed with a specific new laserlight
camera that drought stressed cotton
plants following seed treatment with imidacloprid
used the sunlight for plant-own
energy production (photosynthesis) more
efficiently.
Record yield
(Highest yield
ever achieved)
Abiotic losses
Biotic losses
Average yield
Imidacloprid significantly increased barley leaf growth under drought stress conditions
[L*n]
1000
800
600
400
L*n = Longest
leaf x
number of
leaves
treated
untreated
Drought period
6-chloronicotinic acid (6-CNA) is suggested
to possibly cause the physiological
changes in the plant which aid in plant and
stress protection. 6-CNA is a major
decomposition product of imidacloprid in
plant and a known inducer of the plantown
defense against plant diseases.
The interaction of imidacloprid with
plants to moderate abiotic and biotic stress
points to a 2nd mode of action on top of
the well known direct mode of action
against insect pests supporting plants to
achieve higher yields and better quality
under adverse growing conditions.
Imidacloprid represents a new standard
in abiotic plant stress research, validated
both in lab- and field situations. Such a
standard is a prerequisite in the search of
new active ingredients with improved
Stress Shield properties. Advances in
Stress Shield technology combined with
new stress-tolerant varieties will contribute
to further reduce the risk of yield losses.
Oil-based innovation
The new OTEQ formulation, an oil dispersion
(OD type), enhances the Stress Shield
effect even further and Bayer CropScience
is committed to continued research to fully
explore the potential benefits of Confidor.
“Bayer CropScience is a very supportive
and enthusiastic research partner,” says
Prof. Derrick Oosterhuis, a leading cotton
physiologist at the University of Arkansas.
“Investment in innovation is clearly a priority
and that shows through in products
that are fully in line with market needs.”
Confidor OTEQ formulations were
launched in Portugal in 2006 and are due
for roll-out in most major European countries
in the next two years. Its initials stand
for an oil based innovation which penetrates
plants more effectively, spreads more
efficiently and is more adhesive, so there’s
no need to spray crops again after rainfall.
Additionally, a faster onset of action is
achieved, which allows more flexible timing
of application. “The new OTEQ formulation
confirms Bayer CropScience’s
place at the cutting edge of technology,”
says Christian Nagel, Global Product
Manager CNI with Bayer CropScience in
Monheim. ■
200
Christian Nagel,Dr. Wolfgang Thielert,
Bayer CropScience AG, Germany
0
3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30 days
Imidacloprid treatments (days)
8 COURIER 2/06

Extreme stress: many plants suffer under
prolonged periods of drought.
stressed untreated stressed imidacloprid treated unstressed
Survival and growth rate of drought stressed Arabidopsis thaliana plants improved following
Imidacloprid soil treatment (0.5 mg a.i./pot).
No TRIMAX
TRIMAX
Imidacloprid both improved health and increased growth in peppers
(Clark Park, USA), even in situations without insect infestations.
Lint yield increase in cotton from imidacloprid applications
(Oosterhuis & Brown, University of Arkansas).
Root development in tomatoes under hypoxia stress
15 days after sowing 26 days after sowing
untreated
imidacloprid
2/06 COURIER 9

Phytophthora infestans: a pa
Dr. Hans Hausladen, TU München, Center of Life and Food Sciences, Weihenstephan, Germany
The first migration phase of Phytophthora infestans
occurred about 160 years ago. The late blight pathogen
was imported into Europe from central Mexico,
spreading to all areas of cultivation within only
a few years.
The „new“ population was detected
in Europe for the first time at the
end of the nineteen-seventies.
Since then, both mating types A1
and A2 have been prevalent in
Europe. This allows sexual recombination,
which makes the pathogen
able to adapt more quickly. In other
words, the “new” population shows
increased “fitness”.
10 COURIER 2/06

thogen of global importance
Late blight of potatoes,
caused by the pathogen
Phytophthora infestans,
occurs around the world.
In many areas, it is considered
the most serious
disease of potatoes. The
pathogen made history
in the middle of the 19 th
century, when it destroyed
almost the entire Irish
potato harvest in
successive seasons.
This brought about a
catastrophic famine, in
which a million people
starved, and which drove
more than two million
people to leave Ireland
for America, including
the ancestors of the
later US-President,
John F. Kennedy.
Stem blight
The late blight pathogen is still the cause
of considerable harvest losses in many
regions of the world. Results from field
studies show that epidemics typically
cause yield losses of between 40% and
70%, depending on varietal susceptibility
and environmental conditions. If infection
occurs early in the season, the entire harvest
can be lost.
The financial loss caused by Phytophthora
infestans has been estimated at more
than US$ 2.7 thousand million in developing
countries alone (source: CIP 1 ). As well
as reducing yield, the pathogen also causes
reductions in quality, which can bring considerable
economic penalties.
Sources of infection
The fungus Phytophthora infestans can
spread in two ways: as asexual vegetative
mycelium in infected tubers, or as the sexual
stage, in the form of resting spores, the
so-called oospores. Sexual reproduction
requires the presence of two different mating-types.
Sexual reproduction is required for
oospore formation. These resting spores are
probably important for the long-term survival
of the pathogen in soil. However, their
1) Centro International de la Papa, Lima (International
Potato Center)
Leaf blight
importance in the infection cycle of the
pathogen has not yet been finally determined.
Transmission of the pathogen Phytophthora
infestans as vegetative mycelium is
only possible via infected plant parts. This
means that the fungus can only survive in
tubers that are not killed off by frost during
the winter. Phytophthora can overwinter in
tubers via three routes:
• potatoes on cull piles
• volunteer potatoes
• seed potatoes
Biological relationships
Tubers can become infected while they are
still growing, or later, during harvesting
operations. If infected tubers are then
planted out in the following spring, the
pathogen’s mycelium grows intercellularly
through the tuber tissues, entering young
sprouts as the tuber germinates, and is then
carried upwards in a latent form within the
shoots. Another route of infection occurs
when the fungus sporulates on infected
tubers, and the spores thus released succeed
in infecting the lower leaves and stem
parts. A further route of transmission
occurs when spores spread between tubers
in soils with high water content.
2/06 COURIER 11

Birds-eye view of a trials field: the untreated plots can be clearly
distinguished from the treated ones.
A glance at the untreated plots shows the devastating effect of
Phytophthora infestans on potato plants.
After infection, the further development
of the fungus is predominantly determined
by climatic conditions. Sporangium formation
requires high humidity, and has a temperature
optimum in the range 18°-23°C.
The sporangia are dispersed by wind. If a
sporangium lands on a potato plant, 6-12
zoospores can be released. This process
can only occur in water droplets on the
plant surface. The zoospores quickly germinate
to form a germ-tube, which penetrates
into the plant’s tissues. Under optimal
conditions, a successful infection can
usually occur within 2 hours. The infection
process can take place on either side of the
leaf.
The incubation period, i.e. the period
between penetration of the host and the
first appearance of lesions, lasts 2-3 days.
The infection cycle continues when the
pathogen sporulates. Sporangia are
released into dew or raindrops and can
enter the upper soil layers when this water
runs off the leaf. Here, they release their
zoospores, which are able to penetrate into
very young tubers through the epidermis.
In older tubers, in contrast, the pathogen
can only penetrate into the tuber’s starchy
interior through open lenticels, via stomata,
or through the eye. The pathogen has a
further opportunity to infect tubers during
the harvesting process, during which
tubers come into contact with infected
foliage or with earth contaminated with
sporangia. Inoculum in the form of sporangia
can remain viable in soil for some time
(ca. 30 days). Even small injuries to tubers
are sufficient to allow infection.
Symptoms
Because potato leaves tend to develop
various brown spots during the vegetative
period, it is important that advisors and
farmers are able to identify late blight
symptoms clearly.
Primary infections are seen on the stem
and the petioles (leaf-stalks). These plant
parts become brown, and eventually nearly
black, and the associated leaves die off.
Surface growth of the fungus is rarely seen
on stems.
Initial symptoms of leaf infection are
small, yellowish to dark-green spots.
Infection usually first occurs on leaf margins
and leaf tips, because this is where
water droplets are retained longest. Under
favourable environmental conditions, the
spots quickly enlarge and become darkbrown
to black. A whitish-grey zone of
downy fungal growth can be seen on the
underside of the leaf at the border between
infected and healthy tissue. This is particularly
obvious to the eye during periods of
high air humidity, in the early morning
(dew period) or after rainfall. The white
zone is the unmistakable sign of late blight
infection.
Infected tubers have more-or-less large,
irregular and slightly sunken, blue-grey
spots on their surfaces. Below the areas
showing these symptoms, large parts of the
starchy tissues are discoloured rustybrown;
there is no sharp distinction
between the rusty-brown areas and healthy
tuber tissue.
12 COURIER 2/06

Life cycle of
Phytophthora infestans
Sporulation
Mycelia of two
mating types meet
Sporangia
dispersal
Direct Germination
(High temperature)
Oospore
formation
Sexual
Reproduction
Mycelial growth
in leaves & tubers
Sporangial
germination
Zoospore
formation
Oospore
germination
Indirect Germination
(Low temperature)
Sporangial
germination
Cyst
germination
Zoospore
mobility
Population studies
Zoospore
encystment
The late blight pathogen Phytophthora
infestans originated in the central highlands
of Mexico. The spread of the
pathogen to the rest of the world occurred
in two major waves of migration. The first
migration occurred about 160 years ago.
The fungus was inadvertently transported
across the Atlantic on ships, after which it
established itself quite rapidly throughout
Europe, Asia and Africa. For a long time,
populations in Central Europe remained
very uniform: only mating type A1 was
present in Europe and Asia. Any adaptive
changes by the pathogen that occurred
would have been through mutation or
mitotic crossing-over. Exchange of genes
through sexual recombination would not
have been possible, because only one mating
type (A1) was present (sexual recombination
depends on two mating-types {A1
und A2} being present). This remained the
situation until about 1975.
The pathogen’s second great wave of
migration occurred in the mid-nineteenseventies.
In 1976 and 1977, large numbers
of Mexican ware potatoes were imported
into Europe: among them were tubers with
latent infections, including new (to Europe)
2/06 COURIER 13

The latent period
of a pathogen
A1-strains, and for the first time, the A2-
mating type. These new strains quickly
spread throughout Europe.
Phytophthora populations deriving from
the first wave of migration are referred to
as „old“, whereas those from the second
migration wave are referred to as “new”
populations.
Situation in Central Europe
Time of infection
Appearance of symptoms
3-5 days “new” population, 4-7 days “old” population
Fig. 1: The latent period is the time elapsing between infection by the
fungus and the first appearance of symptoms. The latent period for the
“old” population was between 5 and 7 days. The „new“ population
starts to show symptoms within 3 days of an infection event.
Many studies have been done to investigate
the incidence of Phytophthora populations
around the world. The aim has been to
determine the relative preponderance and
geographical distribution of the “old” and
“new” populations. Gene technology
methods can be used to characterize populations
as being “old” or “new”.
Using the polymerase chain reaction
(PCR) and gel-electrophoresis, the pathogen’s
mitochondrial DNA can be separated
out, allowing differentiation between “old”
and “new” populations. Investigations at
the TU München in 2001 showed that the
“old” population comprised less than 4%
of the total population in Germany. The situation
is similar in neighbouring countries:
only a small proportion of the populations
in France, Holland, Denmark and Poland is
of the “old” type.
The population shifts towards a “new”
population have also been confirmed in
North East Asia and North America.
Development of
„aggressive“ strains
In a number of international studies, it has
been possible to distinguish clearly
between the “old” and “new” populations.
It was found that the “new” population
causes a quicker-spreading necrosis, i.e.
the pathogen is able to grow more quickly
through the leaf. Moreover, the “new” population
shows a greater capacity for spore
production, with the result that more sporangia
are produced per unit area of
infected leaf.
14 COURIER 2/06

A further fitness-advantage of the
„new“ population is that it has a shorter
latent period, i.e. the interval between
infection and the appearance of symptoms
(see Fig. 1). Whereas the standard latent
period quoted for the pathogen Phytophthora
infestans used to be 5 to 7 days, isolates
collected from the field nowadays
show latent periods of less than 3 days.
The latent period is a vital indicator in
epidemiological terms. A shorter latent
period means that more generations can
occur within a year. The latent period also
has an important influence on the likelihood
of success of curative treatments to
control of the pathogen. These differences
in the properties of the „new“ population
indicate that the pathogen is „fitter“: in
other words, more aggressive. This
increased fitness of the “new” population
explains why it has been able to out-compete
the old population in most areas of
potato cultivation within only a few years.
Implications for
agricultural practice
The results of tests of the effectiveness of
curative treatments show that it is almost
impossible to prevent the outbreak of an
epidemic once infection has become successfully
established. Therefore, it is
important that the establishment of the
pathogen is avoided through preventative
measures. A pre-condition for this is the
correct timing of the start of the spraying
programme, before the first symptoms
appear. Computer-aided decision models
are an important tool in planning timely
fungicide applications. Modern communications
media provide the basis for the
rapid translation of decision into action.
The integration of the latest research
results coming from the areas of phytopathology,
plant breeding and crop protection
will provide the basis for the successful
control of the pathogen Phytophthora
infestans into the future. ■
New, ultimate protection of
potatoes
The increasing Phytophthora infection pressure has urged scientific research for
the search for new control technologies. With fluopicolide, Bayer CropScience has
developed a promising, new-generation active substance for the control of late
blight in potatoes. This modern product provides an innovative form of disease
control, with a long-lasting action.
Fluopicolide is the first active substance in the new class of acylpicolides. It has
a novel mode-of-action that allows it to provide effective and sustained control of
late blight, targeting all the important stages of the pathogen’s life-cycle. Both
direct and indirect germination of the spores and sporangia are inhibited, along
with the sexual reproduction of the pathogen.
Fluopicolide is an active substance with translaminar properties: following
application to the upper side of the leaf, the active substance penetrates the
leafsurface and moves into the leaf tissues, providing protection through to the
underside of the leaf. If applied to the leaf-base or the petiole, the active substance
is distributed towards the leaves: this property means that it is capable of
protecting the new growth that develops between successive spray applications.
In 2006, Bayer CropScience obtained the first registrations for fluopicolide, in the
UK and China. Further registrations are expected in coming years.
Fluopicolide is marketed for use in potatoes in a mixture with propamocarb,
under the trade name Infinito ® . The two active substances fluopicolide and
propamocarb complement each other perfectly: they offer the farmer an effective
tool for avoiding the development of resistance. Infinito can also be used against
strains of oomycete fungi that are resistant against standard fungicides.
Field trials in recent years have demonstrated Infinito’s robust and very high level
of action against Phytophthora infestans infections on leaves and stems and
tubers. Also the international field trials clearly demonstrated the reliable longlasting
protection it brings. Thanks to its very favourable environmental profile,
Infinito is suitable for use in integrated crop management programmes and a
product of choice for the partners in the food chain.
Bayer CropScience is currently testing this highly-active fungicide in trials around
the world, in order to develop it into a product for controlling downy mildew in
vegetables, ornamental plants and grapes. For example, fluopicolide will be made
available for use in grapes in a pre-mix, under the trade name Profiler ® .
2/06 COURIER 15

The value
of Hybrids
“No product of the plant
breeder’s art or science
has had greater impact
on increasing the world’s
feed or food resources
than hybrids”. 1
16 COURIER 2/06

Hugely successful in corn, the use of
hybridization by plant breeders to improve
crop productivity is now prevalent in a vast
array of cereal, horticultural and vegetable
crops. Bayer CropScience has developed
an expertise in the production of quality
hybrid seed in canola and, to a smaller
extent, cotton and in the most recent crop
embracing hybrid vigor, rice.
Breeding and plant pollination
A hybrid is the result of a cross between
two genetically distinct parent lines. When
the right parents are selected, a hybrid will
have both greater vigor and yield than
either of the parents. Hybrids also tend to
have increased resistance to diseases and
insects.
The process of breeding hybrids,
“hybridization”, is achieved through the
use of what is called a pollination control
system that renders the pollen of one parent
line non-viable (male sterile or female
line) to ensure pollination by the chosen
parent line. One of the most common
methods to eliminate self-pollination is
emasculation through the mechanical
removal of the anthers.
In corn, where the male flowers are separated
from the female flowers, the process
is called “detasseling” and involves the
removal of the male flowers from the plant.
Genetic methods can also be used to generate
the desired male sterility in hybrid
seed production, particularly in crops that
possess full or “perfect” flowers (male and
female) and that “have a moderate degree
of out-crossing, produce few seeds per
flower, and for which the costs of manual
castration techniques cannot be recovered
by the price of the seed.” 2
Why Farmers use F1 Hybrids
There are three very good reasons why
farmers are interested in first generation
filial (F1) hybrids. The first is to obtain
higher yields through a phenomenon
known as hybrid vigor (heterosis) or heterozygote
advantage. The second is uniformity.
Every plant in an F1 is identical (with
some genetic variation in the inbreds that
gets multiplied when the inbreds are
crossed) and this uniformity can be advantageous
when you are trying to harvest a
field at one time, by a machine. The third
is the availability of certain hybrid gene
combinations that are only present in a
commercial F1 and that are technically
impossible in an inbred line.
If farmers plant the seeds of a hybrid
crop (F2, F3…), then the resulting crop
will deliver disappointing results. The
growth will not be uniform, harvests will
show mixed grain types and will have lost
its yield advantage. For this reason, a fresh
batch of F1 hybrid seed should be planted
for every crop. Indeed, from a farmer’s perspective,
hybrids are best used when the
increased yields from hybrid vigor will
more than pay for the extra cost of planting
seed; the added premium being uniformity. 3
Producing Commercial F1 Seed
The production of commercial hybrid seed
for sale to farmers is an expertise intensive
– as opposed to capital intensive – exercise.
It requires considerable agronomic and
genetic expertise to produce quality seed in
general and hybrid seed in particular.
Within Bayer CropScience, the process
begins with our expert breeders developing
and then selecting the most desirable parent
lines to form a high quality male and
female gene pool. Once selected, these
lines are handed over to our expert ‘Parent
Seed Team’ to be grown and multiplied.
The parent lines are then coded and dispatched
to contracted farmers who will
grow the seed under the supervision of our
Certified F1 Seed Production Team. The
team is comprised of expert breeding and
production agronomists who ensure the
quality and grade of the seed throughout
the product cycle. The parent lines are kept
separate in the field and are often sown at
different times to ensure the synchronized
development (flowering) of the male and
female lines and to maximize cross-pollination.
The team works with the contracted
farmers who are paid a premium for growing
the coded parent lines in accordance
with the specified protocol. The harvested
seed is then sent back from the farms to
Bayer CropScience for quality evaluation
and grading and is cleaned, treated, coated,
bagged and distributed.
1+2) Introduction to Plant Breeding –
Briggs & Knowles 1967
3) Ibid
2/06 COURIER 17

InVigor ® Hybrid Canola:
Where Vision plus expertise
breeds success
Hybrids are not just the fruit of expertise. In the case of canola, the creation of
Bayer CropScience’s hybrid business also required vision. Over the last 10 years,
Bayer CropScience built up “from scratch” what has become the number one
hybrid canola business in Canada with over 30% of planted canola acres. The
experts imagined, designed and delivered the SeedLink hybridization system.
SeedLink is a completely stable pollination control system that was the first of
its kind. Out in the field, SeedLink is combined with LibertyLink ® herbicide
tolerance.
They then built up a world class breeding program and set new heights
for performance in the field. They also work within a globally
evolving regulatory framework
to obtain commercial
Cross-pollination
approvals. Today, third party
national field trials show that
InVigor ® canola varieties are
on top of the pile in terms
of yield performance.
SeedLink
male
From breeding to productivity:
The corn example
Hybrids are one of the main contributing
factors to the dramatic rise in agricultural
output during the last half of the 20th century.
While “productivity” is a term that
connotes superfluous production in many
developed countries, for less privileged
regions of the world, further improvements
in productivity will be vital for their survival.
Modern corn hybrids substantially outyield
conventional cultivars and tend to
respond better to fertilization, which
makes them attractive to farmers worldwide.
In the US, hybrid corn, which was
first introduced in significant amounts in
1932, now makes up about 95 per cent of
total harvests. Indeed, today, nearly all the
field corn grown in the United States and
most other developed nations is hybrid corn.
SeedLink
female
SeedLink
hybrid
The next hybrid revolution:
Hybrid Rice
Expected Rice Demand in selected Countries
2000/2025 in M Tons (source FAO)
300
250
200
150
100
50
China
India
Indonesia
Bangladesh
Vietnam
Brazil
Thailand
0
214
264
106
145
49
64
32
44
20
26
12
16
12
15
2000
2025
10
14
Philipines
Rice is the most important cereal grown
globally and the major staple food for
about half of the world population. Within
the next 20 years, the global production of
rice needs to increase by 20 to 30% to satisfy
the demand of an expanding worldwide
population. Due to urban and industrial
development, this increase must be
achieved in the face of declining arable
land and water supplies. In this context,
improving yields has become an issue of
utmost importance and is the main challenge
for the rice community.
Hybrid rice is expected to play a major
role in breaking the current yield frontier,
thereby contributing to sustainable food
security. In the context of an increasingly
competitive environment, the higher productivity
of hybrid rice will also contribute
to improving the profitability and competitiveness
of rice cultivation.
In breeding, the use of hybrid vigor in
first-generation seeds is well known. However,
until about 30 years ago, its application
in rice was limited because of the selfpollinating
character of that crop. In 1974,
Chinese scientists successfully transferred
the male sterility gene from wild rice to
create the cytoplasmic genetic male-sterile
(CMS) line and hybrid combination. 4
The first generation of hybrid rice varieties
produced yields that were about 15 to
20 percent greater than those of improved
or high-yielding varieties of the same
growth duration. The most recent hybrids
now provide even higher yield benefits.
Hybrid rice seed enables farmers to
achieve significant yield improvements
over open pollinated or “inbred” varieties.
Rice hybrids combine the positive qualities
of both parents and have the potential to
yield 15 to 35% more than the best inbred
variety grown in similar conditions.
Hybrid rice has also proven to be hardier in
adverse growing conditions, especially in
unfavorable soil and climatic conditions –
such as saline soils and uplands.
As with other hybrids, the production of
hybrid rice seeds requires considerable
manpower and inputs, which explains why
hybrid seed tends to be more expensive
than inbred seed. However, hybrid rice cultivation
requires less seed per hectare than
inbred lines. All in all, the higher seed
price per kg is more than offset by lower
seed planting density requirements and
higher yields, making hybrid rice cultivation
very profitable for farmers.
4) In rice crops there are two systems for producing
hybrids referred to as 3-line and 2-line systems. The
most common is called CMS – or the 3-line system –
invented in China in the 70s and based on the transfer
by breeding of a naturally occurring “male sterility”
gene from wild rice to cultivated rice in order to create
a cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) female line. The
2-line system referred to as environmentally genetic
male sterile (EGMS) involves a female parent which is
an EGMS female line (male sterility induced by thermo
sensitivity or photosensitivity).
18 COURIER 2/06

The Strengths of Arize Hybrid
Rice Seed
Bayer CropScience has been present in all
major rice growing countries for many
years and is familiar with local cultivation
practices in most Asian and Latin American
countries. By combining high quality
hybrid seed varieties marketed under the
brand Arize ® with state-of-the-art crop
protection products, Bayer CropScience
optimizes the performance of hybrid rice
crops and offers farmers seed protection
from sowing through to harvest.
Arize ® hybrids yield consistently at least
+20% (or minimum 1 mt) above the best
non-hybrid varieties, and as much or more
than competing hybrids. In terms of revenue,
Indian studies have shown farmer
revenue increases due to high harvests of
Arize hybrid rice of around 72 per cent
compared with inbred lines. Likewise, in
the Philippines, the average net income is
almost doubled with Arize Bigante compared
with inbred varieties.
The seed is well adapted to diverse climatic
and growing conditions and market
preferences and offers excellent grain,
cooking and taste quality. It has high purity
levels and high germination rates that meet
or exceed legal standards.
Hybrid Rice: Geographical
expansion
China has been the center of excellence in
hybrid rice technology and production for
over 30 years. Hybrids are now cultivated
successfully on about 55% of the ricegrowing
areas and contribute to 66% of
China's total rice production.
Hybrid rice research in China began in
1964 and the first cytoplasmic male sterile
(CMS) line was developed in 1974 from a
male sterile plant. The first commercial
rice hybrid was developed in China in 1976
and gave high-yielding varieties 20% higher
than that of commercial high-yielding
varieties of similar duration (IRRN 29.1).
China is indisputably the biggest and most
established hybrid rice market in the world
with 16 million ha of hybrid rice, China
represents 90% of the global hybrid rice
area (approx. 18 million ha).
In other countries, the cultivation of
hybrid rice is still at an early development
stage. India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam,
Pakistan, the Philippines, the United
States, and Brazil have quite recently introduced
hybrid technology in rice, and cultivation
is expected to expand quickly in
these countries. Other major rice producing
countries in Latin America should also
soon enter the hybrid rice era as farmers
adopt the higher yielding seed. Bayer
CropScience intends to make its hybrid
rice expertise and offering available to
farmers globally. ■
Rachel Audige, Bayer CropScience SA, France
Bayer CropScience currently commercializes
hybrid seed in rice, cotton, canola and numerous
vegetable varieties. To find out more, go to
http://www.bayercropscience.com
Hybrid seed results from cross-pollination
between two inbred parent lines, one of which is male-sterile
Female parent
• No pollen
• Produces hybrid seed
F
Cross-pollination
M
Male parent
• supplies pollen
genotype
+
genotype
Creation of
Hybrid Seed
Hybrid Rice
F1 – 1 st generation
• Every plant genetics identical
• High yielding
• Highly uniform
Same Hybrid
Seed is
replanted
=
genotype
Hybrid Rice
F2 – 2 nd generation
• Every plant has a
different genotype
• Highly variable populations
=
genotypes
2/06 COURIER 19

Biodiversity and
Crop Protection –
how the balance
is maintained
The word biodiversity is used to describe the
variety that is found among living organisms.
Three levels are recognised: genetic hetereogeneity;
the diversity of species; and the
variety of ecosystems. It is essential that we
protect this diversity in order to maintain the
evolutionary potential of life on our planet.
Numerous studies are done to test the effects of crop protection products
on the environment, for example in water and soil.
20 COURIER 2/06

Agriculture, in all its forms, inevitably
means disruption of natural ecosystems.
What is therefore important is that a balance
is achieved between varied habitats
on the one hand, and agricultural use of
land on the other. This is certainly possible
– because high environmental standards
can be combined with productivity and
profitability in agricultural systems.
Extensive research efforts
These days, the development of a new crop
protection compound can take up to ten
years. Before any products can be marketed,
an extensive programme of research
and development work is done to demonstrate
the safety of the compound to people
and the environment. An application to
register a crop protection compound can
only be made once a catalogue of requirements
has been met. The requirements
themselves are continually being reviewed
and strengthened in order to ensure an ever
more comprehensive characterization of
the product. All of the studies done during
the research and development stage, and
the risk assessments based on them, are
collected together to create a safety profile
for the new crop protection compound.
Existing products – those that are already
on the market – must also be re-tested and
re-classified when the time comes for them
to be re-registered. Not all products are
able to satisfy the complete set of requirements,
and some fail to achieve regulatory
approval.
Among the required studies are tests
relating to the sensitivity of standard
species selected to represent the variety of
non-target organisms that are likely to be
exposed to the product in use, whether
present on the ground, in the soil, or in
water. These include algae, fish, water
fleas, plants, earthworms, mites, parasitic
wasps, bees, birds, and certain mammals,
such as mice.
However, tests done under laboratory
conditions are only part of the story. Under
the real environmental conditions of
nature, not all organisms are equally
exposed to crop protection compounds. If
laboratory tests indicate sensitivity in a
particular species, the product’s effects on
it must also be tested under the more complex
conditions of an intact ecosystem. For
example, in order to determine the safety
of the product to aquatic communities, differing
concentrations of test compound are
applied to small experimental water bodies
in so-called “mesocosm studies”: the
dynamics of the treated ecosystem are then
studied over a period of several months.
Agricultural practice determines that
only a proportion of the fields in a particular
area of land are being treated with a
particular crop protection compound at any
given time. Scientists assessing the environmental
compatibility of a product
therefore take into consideration both the
distribution of certain species (the proportion
of time spent in a treated field) and
their behaviour (for example the feeding
habits of wood mice and water voles, partridges,
larks or yellow wagtails). Socalled
„generic studies“ are done on areas
of land of between five and a hundred
hectares in size and containing a number of
crop types: they aim to establish which
species typically live within these agricultural
areas, and also to what extent they use
crops and orchards as sources of food.
These studies are sometimes run in parallel
in more than one country. Since they do
not involve the use of a particular crop protection
compound, their findings can be
applied to different products. Generic studies
indicate the typical level of exposure to
a product used in the agricultural landscape
in question. With the help of geographical
information systems and simulation
models, the results of smaller studies
can be extrapolated to cover larger agroecosystems.
Good agricultural practices
are key
The success of our highly-refined crop
production technologies depends on them
being used responsibly by the farmer.
Good agricultural practice and soil husbandry
are important factors. Bayer Crop-
Science contributes to sustainable agriculture
through its support for, and promotion
of Integrated Crop Management (ICM)
and Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
The idea behind ICM is to provide farmers
with a method for protecting the environment
within the economic framework they
operate under. By developing and using
ICM-Strategies tailored to local conditions,
it is possible to produce crops economically
and to protect biodiversity at the
same time – independent of geographical
location, the size of the farm, socio-economic
factors and technical standards.
2/06 COURIER 21

The natural fauna, e.g. earthworms, must not be adversely affected by the use of crop protection products.
Field margin strips encourage beneficial insects to
establish themselves.
One of the activities encouraged by
ICM is to set up temporary, or long-term,
protection areas for animals. Examples of
the latter include turning areas, field
margins, set-aside and edge strips that are
intended specifically to provide a haven for
beneficial insects, which can make a valuable
contribution to pest control. It is estimated
that temporary protection areas (3 to
8 meters in width) extend to some 2 million
kilometers in Germany alone. Integrated
Crop Management also recognizes
the value of long-term protection areas
such as hedges and wind-breaks; and it
encourages the setting-up and retention of
suitable habitats within agricultural landscapes.
For example, linked biotopes and
wildlife-corridors intersecting agricultural
landscapes can help to provide continuity
between these areas of protection. The beneficial
insects that find shelter make an
important contribution to agro-ecosystems,
whether by pollinating crops or
by predating on crop pests (biological
control).
Integrated Pest Management combines
biological, mechanical, chemical and biotechnological
methods. The use of biological
control agents is becoming increasingly
important around the world. In Germany
for example, Trichogramma-parasitoids
have been used for more than 25 years
against the European corn borer. Thus it is
important that chemical substances are
carefully tested for their selectivity to the
target pest(s) before finally being developed
into a crop protection product. If a
substance is compatible with beneficial
insects, it has a greater chance of succeeding
in the market – because products will
therefore not preclude the parallel use of
ladybirds, parasitic wasps or predatory
mites. Even if a new active substance is not
sufficiently selective, information is still
gathered on the sensitivity of beneficial
insects, and on the recovery time they need
after an application in order to regenerate
their populations. This information is then
translated into guidelines for the use of the
product.
Targeted applications benefit
the environment
The use of precision application technologies
is another way of ensuring the efficient
and responsible use of crop protection
products. One example is seed-treatment,
where the product is applied to seed
lots with great accuracy, resulting in a considerable
reduction in the amount of product
used on a given area of land. Seedtreatment
or application to the furrow
involves treating a total area of between
60 m 2 and 500 m 2 per hectare, rather than
the entire area of 10,000 m 2 . In other
words: products used for seed-treatment
come into contact with less than one percent
of the soil in the field receiving the
treated seeds. These products act mainly
against biting and sucking pests or against
disease-causing pathogens that attack the
seedling during early growth. Non-target
organisms living on the plants are not
exposed to the treatment at all.
Tree-trunk application is another effective,
reliable method for the targeted control
of pests. It involves injecting a systemically-active
insecticide into the trunk. The
active substance is then transported within
the sap, away from the point of injection,
and into the leaves. In this way, leaf-eating
22 COURIER 2/06

pests are controlled, whilst their natural
enemies remain unaffected.
The use of diagnosis tools for monitoring
pests and pathogen populations is a
further important way of targeting treatment,
allowing a limited – and localized –
use of crop protection products.
Avoiding resistance
One of the most important aspects of the
responsible use of crop protection products
is the avoidance of resistance, which, if left
to develop and spread, can allow the pest or
pathogen to thrive even in treated crops.
Resistance tends to develop wherever a
high selection pressure is exerted on pests
and pathogens through the frequent use of
products from the same chemical class of
activity. As compounds within the same
class are often sold by different companies,
resistance management has to be achieved
through an industry cooperation. Thus
three Resistance Action Committees –
IRAC, FRAC and HRAC (I, F and H stand
for insecticide, fungicide and herbicide,
respectively) – operate under the umbrella
of CropLife International. These committees
have developed technical guidelines,
among the recommendations of which is to
rotate products within a crop spray programme.
Resistance-development is a serious,
but ultimately manageable, issue. It tends
to occur most commonly in areas where a
particular product is used too often, or
even indiscriminately. Therefore, preventing
resistance development protects biodiversity
– in so far as an excessive use of
crop protection products is avoided.
The crop protection industry and farmers
have learned their lessons: new
approaches in research and development,
combined with good management practices,
now ensure that resistance is generally
avoided, so that useful products can
continue to serve their purpose over a prolonged
period.
Summary
Although there aren’t any easy solutions to
the problem of maintaining a balance
between efficient agricultural production
and the protection of biodiversity, much is
being done to achieve this end. Recognition
of our common responsibilities and
the co-operation of all stakeholders are
necessary if we are to preserve the natural
resources that underlie both the integrity of
ecosystems, and the well-being of mankind.
Bayer CropScience is showing its
commitment by taking measures during its
research and development activities to
ensure that biodiversity is preserved. We
also co-operate in the development of
locally-tailored technologies and services
towards an integrated, responsible
approach to the use of crop protection
products. ■
Annik Dollacker,
Bayer CropScience AG, Germany

Outlook into the
Global agricultural challenges
and technology developments
In many countries agriculture remains the engine for the national
economy. With 70% of the population in emerging economies
depending on agriculture for their livelihood and with 1.2 billion people
living in rural areas and on less than one dollar a day, raising farm
productivity is also inextricably linked to poverty alleviation and peace.
24 COURIER 2/06

future
Globally farming faces giant challenges:
old challenges remain, namely how to
increase food and fibre production in
response to the inexorable rise in population.
At the same time population and
income growth, coupled with dietary
diversification, are changing food consumption
patterns and add to the overall
burden placed on natural resources such as
land, water, energy and biodiversity. The
need for rural development, including getting
the knowledge and means of applying
locally appropriate technologies across to
millions of small scale growers in emerging
economies, also continues. Often this
is hampered by market entry hurdles at
local level or barriers to market access at
international level. But this is not all:
newer challenges such as climate change
will have a direct effect on agriculture and
the consequent pressure to switch to cleaner
energy sources, such as biofuels, raises the
question of whether land and other
resources can be spared for this purpose.
Over the past 100 years world population
has more than trebled to over 6 billion
and forecasts predict an increase to almost
8 billion by 2025. Over the past half century
food production has more than kept
pace with human numbers, but the annual
increase in farm productivity is predicted
to slow from an average 2.2 percent over
the past three decades to 1.5% in the
period until 2030. This is still ahead of
expected population growth, but alongside
growing human numbers, changes in
lifestyle and dietary habits fostered by economic
development is boosting the
demand for high value food products.
Large increases in meat, fruit and vegetable
consumption are projected, and yet
animal proteins, kilogram for kilogram,
require almost three times as much in
terms of natural resources to produce as
traditional starchy foods.
Shortages of natural resources such as
water, soil, energy and biodiversity add to
the overall challenge. The bottom line is
that approximately 90% of the required
increase of agricultural production must
come from yield increases on existing
farmland, which at the same time is also
the best way to protect biodiversity. However
a recent IFPRI study (2002) concluded
that soil degradation due to erosion,
nutrient depletion and salinisation affects
70% of the world’s cropland, and is severe
on 30-40%. Fresh water demand is estimated
to have risen more than six-fold
from 1900 to 1995 while population
growth “only” doubled during the same
period. Water use in agriculture accounts
for some 70% of all water use worldwide
and thus water shortages have been identified
as likely to be the single most significant
constraint on crop production over the
next 50 years. If current use trends continue
agriculture will require double water
use by 2050. Almost 12% of the earth’s
land surface is covered by protected areas,
which exceeds the global target of 10% set
in 1992. Nonetheless, ecosystems continue
to be degraded. Since space is limited
strategies to conserve biodiversity can
not just be confined to protected areas.
Conservation objectives must be firmly
embedded into agricultural practices.
What makes the productivity issue even
more critical are aspects such as climate
change. Forecasted global temperature
increases of between 1.4 and 5.8°C by the
end of this century will impact on farming,
e.g. as wheather extremes will regularly
occur. Emerging economies with a high
dependence on agriculture will be particularly
affected according to a recent study
published jointly by the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) and the International
Institute of Applied Systems Analysis
(IIASA). These countries could experience
an 11% decrease in cultivable, rainfed
land with consequent decline in cereal
production. In contrast North America,
Northern Europe, the Russian Federation
and East Asia may see a significant potential
to expand their crop area and increase
production of cereals. Climate change will
also influence the development and intensification
of plant pests (insects, pathogens
and weeds) caused by changing ecological
conditions, which will have to be addressed
at an accelerating pace, often not
leaving much time to find effective and
appropriate pest control solutions.
Recent developments such as the sharp
rise in oil prices, the need for cleaner alternative
energy sources and the requirement
to reduce carbon emissions under the Kyoto
protocol have led to a boom for biofuels:
bioethanol and biodiesel. Production is
increasing rapidly in Europe, the Americas,
Thailand, India, Australia and elsewhere
based on crops as diverse as corn,
soybeans, rapeseeds, sunflowers, coconuts
and sugar cane. What makes biofuels so
compelling is the fact that conventional car
engines can run on them without any major
change and thus they offer an advantage
over hydrogen powered cars, which can
only be used with a more complex technology.
To date Brazil’s 20 million cars
already run on 25 percent bioethanol.
While the technology is straightforward
the politics are more complex: would
energy crops take too much space away
from food crops badly needed to feed the
growing population and would it also put
biodiversity and other natural resources
under even more pressure
2/06 COURIER 25

We need to have a good
idea of future needs to
guide research starting
now as new products
commonly take over a
decade to develop before
they reach users.
Overall, any credible vision of the
future of global farming needs to accommodate
an expanding demand for both
food and non-edible crops produced sustainably
– against a background of food
and non-food crop demand, population
growth, climate change and diminishing
natural resources such as biodiversity, land,
soil, energy, and water. Clearly, steady and
substantial gains in crop productivity will
be essential, and this is most likely to be
achieved through knowledge-based agricultural
intensification, using state-of-theart
science and technology, accompanied
by improved capacity building.
While understanding that technical
solutions form only a part of what is necessary
to address all challenges Bayer
CropScience can contribute to a variety of
aspects that will be key to improving farm
productivity in future. As a technology and
service provider for agriculture we have
considerable skills and resources to contribute
to rural and economic development.
But there are clearly other limiting factors:
we look to governments to provide the necessary
enabling environment required for
business to operate effectively in a strong
and stable political, legal and economic
context. Improved governance, linked to
the rule of law and democratic processes,
is of fundamental importance as is sustained
investment in rural infrastructure
and capacity building. Better access to
domestic and international markets and
open trade can also play a crucial role in
improving the profitability of agriculture
and the welfare of rural communities but
must be underpinned by appropriate
polices and incentives. With these political
issues addressed, the scope for innovative
technologies to make a major contribution
becomes far more feasible and likely.
Production of biofuel is increasing rapidly.
Plant breeding, biotechnology
and crop protection products
Particularly important in the medium and
long term is the progress made possible by
advances in crop genomics that will provide
the springboard for the development
of enhanced crop production. Greater
understanding of the molecular basis of all
aspects of a plant’s physiology and its controlling
genome will enable the development
of enhanced crop varieties and the
development of crop protection products
with innovative modes of action.
About half of the past increase in agricultural
productivity is estimated to have
come from higher yielding crop varieties,
but the gains using traditional plant breeding
technology seem to be close to a ceiling
with most major crops. From a sustainability
viewpoint, novel crop varieties that
use resources more efficiently and more
sustainably are the promise. This also
includes varieties that are less stressed by
temporary water shortages or need less fertiliser
or pesticides to grow. Biotechnology
is making it possible to produce a vast
range of products from plants that could
replace products now derived from nonrenewable
raw materials (such as special
oils). Starches, proteins, biodegradable
plastics and other biomaterials derived
from improved plants will also become
important in future to optimise processing
in downstream industries. However, as
with biofuels, the question of the future
competition with food production for land
and other resources raises some question
marks.
Consumer acceptability of biotechnology
crops need to be respected and Bayer
BioScience is addressing this at a very
early stage of R&D and through stakeholder
engagement at various levels so that
mutual understanding and knowledge sharing
can contribute to making informed
choices of this technology that will surely
be essential to meet future global needs.
Improved land management,
including conservation farming
techniques
Farming has become more knowledge
based and today addresses economic,
social and environmental challenges in a
much better holistic and integrated way
than a few decades ago. In many respects
the prospects for developing innovative
land management approaches, including
conservation farming techniques that
reduce water run-off, soil erosion, fuel use
for tractor operations and contribute to carbon
sequestration are key. Improving the
26 COURIER 2/06

A soil structure with the optimum self-regulatory mechanisms is the basis for
sustainable agriculture.
Precision farming is a technology with strong potential in the service of agriculture
and the management of natural resources.
management of natural resources is inextricably
linked to improving the productivity
and profitability of farmers worldwide;
the challenge is to reach out to them.
Better information and
precision farming technologies
One of the most exciting areas of innovation
lies in the development and application
of information and precision farming
tools for agriculture and natural
resources management. Precision farming
(PF), or Site Specific Crop Management
(SSCM), is defined as “a systems’
approach to managing soils and crops to
reduce decision uncertainty through better
understanding and management of spatial
and temporal variability”. Expertise from
many disciplines is utilised to integrate
data from multiple sources to support decision-making
at field, farm, watershed
and/or regional levels. Most applications to
date have focused on optimising the use of
nutrients, pesticides, water and energy.
It is clear that PF technology needs to
be used in ways that fit local farming conditions
but there is no doubt that site-specific
management can improve profitability.
Adoption of PF in different parts of the
world has progressed patchily. In Europe
and North America, efforts to reverse the
long-term decline in profitability coupled
with environmental issues of agriculture
have been the main drivers. In some developing
countries, simplified forms of
SSCM have been created, driven by the
need to produce more food, utilise inputs
more efficiently and increase farm profits
in response to declining food prices. The
various concepts and technologies that will
constitute tomorrow’s precision agriculture
are still emerging.
Where next
The above examples by no means exhaust
the range of innovative technologies and
approaches that are becoming increasingly
available to tackle the on-going challenge
of sustainable increased productivity facing
world agriculture. In the quest for the
best solutions, trade-offs have been done in
the past at the expense of the environment.
But this is no longer acceptable and lessons
have been learnt that are leading to a
more integrated and holistic farming
approach. Balanced resource management
is key and Bayer CropScience is confident
that its scientists will make an increasing
contribution over the years ahead. The
company in this context is committed to
promoting the adoption of more sustainable
land management practices at a landscape
level within the framework of ecoagriculture
through ICM. Building the
capacity to develop innovative locallyadapted
approaches, especially for the
many small scale farmers hungry for
knowledge will need to be addressed most
effectively through cooperation with governments,
non-governmental organisations,
international organizations and
development agencies, the agri-food
industry and farmer’ organisations.
Bayer CropScience operates within a
multitude of economic, social, political
and environmental contexts at the local,
national or regional levels that are constantly
changing and evolving. Doing business
varies accordingly and the challenge
is to tailor activities that benefit the environment,
social equity and healthy economic
growth in the communities in question.
We need to have a good idea of future
needs to guide research starting now as
new products commonly take over a
decade to develop before they reach users.
The pace of change is accelerating and
hence calls for a matching response from a
R&D company. Bayer CropScience stands
ready to share views with key stakeholders
to see how best choices can be made
together to achieve our common goal: sustainable
development in agriculture. ■
Annik Dollacker,
Bayer CropScience AG, Germany
2/06 COURIER 27

Protected
right from the beginning
The importance of quality in seed treatment
The use of high-quality, healthy seed is one of the
most important factors contributing to efficient
agriculture. The cereal grower depends on it to
ensure the good early establishment of a healthy
crop, and ultimately, financial success.
28 COURIER 2/06

Fusarium ear blight
Snow mould in
winter barley
In order to support this, treated seed must
satisfy a number of requirements. It must
have an adequate thousand-seed weight,
good germinability, varietal purity and last
but not least, it must be free of infection.
Given the major importance of seed to
the farmer, legal requirements designed to
guarantee seed quality were established at
an early stage. One example is the set of
requirements laid down in the seed-quality
regulations that determine the maximum
allowable levels of infection of seed crops
by various pathogens. Seed lots that satisfy
these criteria are considered to be acceptable
– but no information is available about
exact levels of infection below these
thresholds.
The major problems here are those fungal
diseases that are transmitted exclusively
via the seed, and which can therefore
only be controlled effectively through
seed-treatment. These pathogens tend to
have very short generation times, so they
are often able to build up their populations
quickly and cause extensive damage, even
if infection in the original seed crop was
within the thresholds set in the seed quality
regulations. This is why severe infections
occur regularly if seed-treatment is omitted,
even if high-quality seed has been
used: this results in serious losses in yield
and quality, and ultimately, economic
penalties. The only reliable method for
avoiding this problem remains the systematic
use of seed-treatments based on effective
crop protection compounds.
Modern active substances have
a broad spectrum-of-action
Following the ban, more than 25 years ago,
on the marketing of mercury-based crop
protectants, a whole range of new active
substances and products were developed
for use as seed-treatments. Some of these
new compounds were the first systemic
active substances; they were able to control
pathogens that had previously been uncontrollable,
or which were controllable only
through dosages so heavy that they jeopardized
the vitality and germinability of
the seed. Today, a large number of different
systemic seed-treatments are available on
the market, which can differ greatly in
their properties, as well as in price. Nor has
product development stopped in this area,
as is demonstrated by the ongoing adoption
of active substances from the strobil-
urin class into new seed-treatment products.
Seed-treatments designed to control
seed-borne pathogens, including the various
smuts, the snow mould pathogen
(Microdochium nivale), and Fusarium culmorum,
must meet certain minimum standards
in terms of percent control. Product
efficacy against seed-borne pathogens is
tested for during the biological trials that
are required under the regulatory procedure.
However, many systemic active substances,
especially those in the triazole
class, show spectra-of-action that go well
beyond the official requirements, controlling
a range of significant leaf-diseases
too. These include the pathogens that cause
mildews, net-blotch of barley, common
root rot of barley and rye, Rhynchosporium,
both species of Septoria, rusts,
Fusaria and others. One specialist area in
the use of seed-treatments is the control of
take-all of cereals. This disease is not actually
seed-borne, but as a „disease of rotations“,
it can nevertheless only be controlled
directly using the appropriate seedtreatments.
There is now a choice of seed-treatment
products on the market that are registered
for the control of these pathogens. Some of
these have certain incidental effects that
can positively influence the emergence and
early development of the cereal plant, i.e.
beyond the active substance’s direct fungicidal
effect. Although for some diseases
(e.g. smuts), there is a direct correlation
between the number of infected ears and
the extent of harvest losses, the yield benefit
associated with the use of broad-spectrum
seed-treatments is not always attributable
to the control of a specific pathogen.
As well as differing in their spectra-ofaction,
seed-treatments differ in their
potency, particularly under “worst-case”
conditions. Strong infection potential tends
to highlight a product’s reserves, or con-
Stinking smut of wheat
Loose smut of barley
2/06 COURIER 29

versely, its weaknesses. For diseases such
as snow mould, the duration of protection
provided by a product can sometimes be a
critical factor.
Beyond controlling pathogen fungi,
seed-treatment has traditionally served to
prevent infestation by pests. Examples
include bird repellency, and the control of
wheat bulb fly. One important area is the
control of aphid species, especially those
that act as vectors of barley yellow dwarf
virus.
The quality of the
formulation underlies the
success of seed-treatment
The quality of a seed-treatment product
is not simply determined by its spectrumof-action.
Other factors are also involved
in determining, for example, the compatibility
of the various components of the
treatment with the crop plant. The formulation
– i.e. the mixture comprising the
product – significantly influences crop
compatibility: water-based products are
Seed treatment should
therefore not only be judged on
the basis of cost. It should also
be considered as an insurance
policy, and this is reflected
in the higher price paid
for treated seed.
generally more favourable here than solvent-based
formulations. However, the
most important determinants of a formulation’s
crop compatibility are the active substances
it contains. Formerly, the triazoles
were often implicated as a source of problems:
they were included in the formulation
to increase the spectrum-of-action; but
the high doses used were often enough to
jeopardize crop compatibility. Nowadays,
the combination of the different compounds
used must be considered together
with the type of formulation. Here it is also
the case that differences in compatibility
among seed-treatment products only tend
to become obvious when the plant is
stressed. Delayed emergence can usually
also be attributable to external factors such
as temperature, soil conditions and other
factors.
There has been a general trend towards
developing new products as water-based
formulations, although not so much with
crop compatibility in mind, but rather with
the intention of improving
the protection of the
user and non-target
organisms in the environment.
These factors (and of
course, the cost of a
product) are important,
but technical quality is
becoming an increasingly
significant determinant
of the competitiveness
of individual
seed-treatment products.
Here, the physico-chemical properties of
the formulation are also a basis for differentiating
between products: they have a
significant influence on how easy it is to
work with the product. Together with the
equipment used, they determine the quality
of the treated seed lots, and are among the
most important criteria for the selection of
a particular product by the operators of a
seed-dressing unit. If a product constitutes
a hazard to operators, or if the poor workability
of a formulation causes technical
problems during the peak work times in
autumn and spring, then it has little chance
of remaining on the market, even if it
shows good biological efficacy and is
cheap. Working methods within seedpreparation
units often mean that universal
treatments are preferred, because they
allow a switch between the different cereal
types without the need for extensive cleaning
of equipment. Switching between
mutually-incompatible water- and solventbased
formulations is a particular problem
– it requires careful cleaning of equipment,
which can mean complicated planning and
can lead to time-pressure.
As we have seen, the quality of a seedtreatment
can be defined using a number
of parameters. But the overriding aim of
this process of optimization is to ensure
that the product gives consistent control of
the pathogen or pest, allowing optimal
seedling emergence and crop establish-
30 COURIER 2/06

ment. This can only occur if the recommended
(and registered) rate is applied
accurately. Careful calibration, maintenance
and operation of the seed-treatment
equipment are essential for achieving this;
but other factors also play a major role,
including the physico-chemical properties
of the product; and the technical purity of
the seed lot. The same parameters also
determine how evenly the seed-treatment
product is applied across the individual
seeds. It is often possible to trace back a
particular distribution pattern of a product
to a particular combination of personnel
and equipment. Graphical representation
of the measured coverage of hundreds of
individual seeds shows that a certain proportion
of seeds always receives either significantly
more, or significantly less than
the target amount. This means that under
practical conditions, every seed lot
inevitably contains a certain number of
over- or under-treated seeds. Even though
the safety margin that has been incorporated
into a product’s recommended application
rate means that problems rarely
arise in a crop grown from unevenlytreated
seed, the consequences of intentional
under-treating of seeds are often
underestimated.
Seed-treatment – an insurance
policy for the farmer
The pressure to continually decrease costs
in cereal production has led to a situation
in which various types of seed-treatment
product are available that differ not only in
terms of price, but also in terms of spectrum-of-action.
This necessitates careful
cost-benefit analysis: using a product containing
a single active substance – and thus
with a limited spectrum-of-action – is
probably appropriate for (apparently) noninfected
or only slightly-infected seeds
lots, although the risk remains difficult to
calculate. These products lack the versatility
of premium products, which tend to
maintain their broad activity even if unforeseen
bad weather occurs, or if the risk
of infection is higher than anticipated. The
potential for efficacy offered by broadspectrum
products under problematic conditions
represents a cost-benefit investment
that is probably unmatched by any
other crop protection measure.
Seed treatment should therefore not
only be judged on the basis of cost. It
should also be considered as an insurance
policy, and this is reflected in the higher
price paid for treated seed.
Achieving an optimal seed-treatment
that supports effective cereal cultivation
depends on the use of high-quality products:
these must show a spectrum-of-action
and technical properties that meet the most
demanding modern standards. ■
Distribution of seed-treatment product across 100 seeds with 100% application rate
Number of seeds
Distribution of seed-treatment product across 100 seeds with 80% application rate
Number of seeds
25
20
15
10
5
0
25
20
15
10
5
0
1 2 5 4
5
1 2 5 4
5
9
22
10
6
9
11
22
4
10
35 45 55 65 75 85 95 105 115 125 135 145 155 160
Coverage (%)
7
Fritz Brendler,
Chamber of Agriculture, North Rhine-Westphalia,
Crop protection service Bonn, Germany
6
4 3
2
35 45 55 65 75 85 95 105 115 125 135 145 155 160
Coverage (%)
11
4
7
3
4 3
2
acceptable limits
unacceptable limits
3
acceptable limits
unacceptable limits
1 1
1 1
In the first example, the amount of seed-treatment applied corresponded to 100%
of the recommended application rate. Here, 78% of seeds had a coverage that was
within acceptable limits (the region between 80 and 120 % coverage, blue bars).
In the second example, only 80% of the recommended application rate was applied.
The result: the proportion of seeds receiving coverage within the acceptable limits was
reduced almost by half, to 40%. Coverage was too low for the majority (58%) of seeds.
2/06 COURIER 31

Nature and technology
Architects are always happy to borrow
ideas from nature. It offers them a great
variety of forms and materials, and many
principles of construction, which can inspire
more beautiful, lighter, and more stable ways
of building. The ideal is to bring design and
function together in a harmonious way.
The unfinished „Sagrada Familia“ cathedral
in Barcelona is a typical example.
Building first began in 1882: even then, its
architect Antoni Gaudi was taking his ideas
from nature, adopting various different
stylistic elements in his designs. Tree-like
pillars extend across large internal spans,
despite the use of comparitively little masonry.
The cathedral’s impressive towers are reminiscent
of a diatom’s siliceous skeleton. ■
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