Bayer CropScience and Janssen Pharmaceutica nv, Beerse, Belgium, have concluded a multi-year research agreement to develop new

OTHER NEWS AND MARKETS

GLOBAL MARKET GROWS

The value of the conventional chemical crop protection market in 2008 increased by 21.2% in comparison with 2007 to reach $40,475 million, according to consultants Phillips McDougall. In addition to the crop protection sector, agrochemicals are also sold into a number of markets that are classified as non-crop. The overall market value for agrochemical product usage in the non-crop sector is believed to have increased by 5.4% to $5,655 million. As a result the total market for agrochemicals increased by 19.0% to $46,130 million. It is estimated that the overall sales of the six leading companies in the industry increased by 22.3%.
The European crop protection market grew by over 21% in US dollar terms during 2008 and while this outcome clearly reflected a more favourable market environment, it was also influenced by a significant loss in value of the US dollar versus the euro particularly towards the end of the year. Even without this factor, the European crop protection market registered a strong performance, growing by 13.6% in euro terms.
Although the NAFTA agricultural market was very buoyant in 2008, agrochemical growth was more modest and much of the increased input value (10.8%) came from the GM crop sector. The Asian agrochemical market grew 19.8% in 2008 reflecting growth in India and China as well as Japan and Australia. As in 2007, the highest increase in value was seen in Latin America. This was largely a result of very high market growth in Brazil but also good market performances in other countries particularly Argentina.

Regional Market Performance 2008
Region	2008 ($m)	2007 ($m)	Growth 2008/2007 (%)
NAFTA	8325	7507	10.9
Latin America	8405	6170	36.2
Europe	12850	10568	21.6
Asia	9360	7815	19.8
Rest	1535	1330	15.4
World	40475	33390	21.2

BAYER INTRODUCES NEW FUNGICIDE

Bayer CropScience has presented its new fungicide fluopyram to scientists and journalists. The active ingredient is one of three substances from Bayer CropScience’s research pipeline that are scheduled to reach the market in 2010. The new active ingredient, fluopyram, belongs to a new chemical class known as pyridinyl ethylbenzamides. It was developed to combat various plant diseases such as gray mold, powdery mildew, sclerotinia and monilia and will be available for use on more than 70 crops, including vines and table grapes, pome and stone fruit, vegetables and field crops. Fluopyram is very effective at low application rates, both on its own and in combination with other Bayer fungicides. The fungicide has an annual sales potential of more than €150 million. The first marketing authorisation is expected to be granted in the US in 2010. Registrations of fluopyram-based products in Europe are anticipated from 2011 onwards.

BAYER OPENS NEW LABORATORY IN LYON

Dr Alexander Klausener, head of research at Bayer CropScience told an audience of scientists, policy-makers and journalists at the company’s research site in Lyon, France that agriculture will only continue to produce sufficient quantities of high-quality food in future if there are innovations in plant health. With an expenditure of €649 million in research and development in 2008 Bayer, he said, was one of the most innovative companies in the agricultural industry. Lyon is one of nine Bayer CropScience research and development sites worldwide which specialises in fungicides and plant health research and the company has officially opened a laboratory there for a newly established research group, Plant Health Science and Technology. This interdisciplinary research unit combines experience in chemical research and molecular biology.
Dr Klausener also stressed the importance of knowledge transfer in making new technology accessible. It is with this in mind that Bayer is collaborating with public and state institutions in France including the universities. This effort is to be continued and intensified (March CPM). Bayer will also strengthen its commitment to its rapidly growing Seeds and Traits business by establishing a Plant Biotechnology Research centre in Morrisville, North Carolina. Over the next five years, there will be considerable investment and around 130 new jobs will be created. The opening of a dedicated BioScience Innovation Centre in the US will improve access to US based innovation and extend the company’s presence in this important market. The new site is scheduled to be operational next autumn. Research there will support trait development across a range of crops. These discovery programmes will focus on agronomic performance and yield stability. The Innovation Centre will also house various Technology Management functions, which will take leading roles in performing studies and preparing regulatory dossiers for new plant biotechnology products that are already well advanced in the pipeline.
Last year, 62.5 million hectares of genetically modified crops were grown in the US, putting the country in first place ahead of Argentina and Brazil in the adoption of genetically modified traits. According to US Department of Agriculture statistics 86% of the land used for growing cotton in the US in 2008 was planted with genetically modified varieties. For corn, this was 80%, while for soybeans it increased to 92%.

BAYER AND EVOGENE COLLABORATE TO CARRY OUT RICE RESEARCH

Bayer CropScience and Evogene will collaborate for the next three years on increasing rice productivity and yield. Key candidate genes discovered by Evogene for yield enhancement will be introduced into Bayer CropScience's rice research pipeline for the development of high yielding hybrid rice. Bayer will be granted an exclusive commercialisation license to the candidate genes for use in rice. The agreement strengthens and expands the companies' existing research and development (R&D) collaboration for rice, established in 2007. “We are very pleased by this expansion of our rice collaboration with Bayer CropScience on yield improvement”, said Mr Ofer Haviv, Evogene's president and CEO. “This important trait has been, and will remain, a key focus area for Evogene, and the new agreement represents an important addition to our rapidly expanding programme in this area.” Dr Michiel van Lookeren Campagne, head of research at BioScience, a business operations unit of Bayer CropScience, also welcomed the expanded relationship: “Advantages in yield and yield stability of our superior hybrids have been the basis of our leadership position in rice hybrid seeds. The integration of Evogene’s proprietary yield improvement gene technology into our rice R&D pipeline will allow us to keep offering top-of-the line innovation to our customers, especially with regard to ensuring higher yields in difficult climatic conditions.”

BAYER INVESTS IN FUNGICIDE PRODUCTION

Over the next two years, Bayer CropScience AG will be investing around €30 million in the expansion of production capacities for the active ingredient prothioconazole at the Chemical Park in Dormagen, Germany which is one of the biggest Bayer CropScience production sites in the world. Prothioconazole is approved in more than 40 countries for use in cereals, canola, soybeans, pulses and groundnuts. The investment comes in response to a growing demand for the fungicide which is marketed globally and provides long-lasting efficacy against a broad spectrum of plant diseases. It also counteracts the formation of mycotoxins which can harm human health and are a common cause of food poisoning. In the 2008 financial year, products based on prothioconazole were among Bayer CropScience’s ten most important products worldwide, with sales of €246 million.

BAYER AND JANSSEN DEVELOP NEW POST HARVEST FUNGICIDES

Bayer CropScience and Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Beerse, Belgium have announced a multi-year research agreement to develop new post harvest solutions to protect fruit and vegetable produce against fungal diseases. Bayer CropScience will make active ingredients from its current fungicide portfolio available for testing by Janssen’s Preservation and Material Protection (PMP) division which has long-standing expertise in post-harvest disease control and already supplies products for the control of post-harvest molds and rots.
According to Janssen post-harvest treatments play a key role in increasing productivity and combating food shortages as a great deal of harvested produce is still lost due to decay. Geoffroy de Chabot, sales and marketing manager at Janssen PMP, explained: “The slightest damage to fruits during harvest, transport and storage provides an opportunity for fungal attack. So fruit has to be protected to ensure rots do not develop and food quality is maintained.”

MONSANTO AND DREXEL REACH GLYPHOSATE AGREEMENT

Monsanto and Drexel Chemical have reached a commercial agreement regarding patents that Monsanto owns on the manufacture, use and sale of certain types of glyphosate-based herbicides. The agreement provides Drexel with a license under Monsanto patents covering the manufacture of glyphosate using certain catalysts. Additionally Drexel agrees to cease selling potassium salt glyphosate formulations in the US in the future. Drexel will, however, be able to sell its existing inventory of these products in an agreed timeframe. Monsanto had proved that Drexel's sale of formulations containing the potassium salt of glyphosate violated Monsanto patents covering the manufacture, use and sale of such formulations. Sean Gardner, global chemistry lead at Monsanto, said: "We are pleased to have reached a mutually satisfactory resolution of those issues which recognises, and is consistent with, our proprietary rights.”

INDIAN COMPANY TO LAUNCH EXOSEX

Pest Control India Private Limited (PCI) (http://pcilindia.com) is to launch Exosex YSB in India. Exosex YSB is an auto-confusion product manufactured by Exosect to combat the damaging effects of yellow stem borer Scirpophaga incertulas on rice. This is a serious pest throughout Southeast and East Asia, China, the Indian continent and Afghanistan. It attacks rice throughout its growing period causing potentially large reductions in yield. Currently farmers rely heavily on pesticides to control yellow stem borer. However, potential impact on the environment and an increasing demand for food free of pesticides residues are driving the need to seek new technology. Dr Krihnaiah Kothakonda, formerly of the Directorate of Rice Research, Hyderabad and a leading expert on rice production, has demonstrated in two year’s trials that Exosex YSB is as effective as traditional farm practice. PCI has been promoting eco friendly technologies in India for the last 25 years. It has a network of 150 branches across the country and a dedicated research and production facility.

NEW APPROACH TO GM

Researchers at the University of Minnesota and Massachusetts General Hospital have used a genome engineering tool they have developed to make a model crop plant herbicide-resistant without significant changes to its DNA. “It is still considered a GMO but the modification is more subtle,” said Daniel Voytas, director of the University’s Centre for Genome Engineering. “We made a slight change in the sequence of the plant's own DNA rather than adding foreign DNA.” The new approach has the potential to help scientists modify plants while minimising the concerns about GMOs.


For the study, the researchers created a customised enzyme called a zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) to change single genes in tobacco plant cells. The altered cells were then cultured to produce mature plants that survived exposure to herbicides. The research was published online by Nature on 29 April. “This is

the first real advance in technology to genetically modify plants since foreign DNA was introduced into plant chromosomes in the early 1980s,” Mr Voytas said. “It could become a revolutionary tool for manipulating plant, animal and human genomes.”

Zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs) are engineered enzymes that bind to specific DNA sequences and introduce modifications at or near the binding site. The standard way to genetically modify an organism is to introduce foreign genes into a genome without knowing where they will be incorporated. The random nature of the standard method has given rise to concerns about potential health and environmental hazards of genetically modified organisms. According to Mr Voytas, Open ZFNs can be used to improve the nutrition of crop plants, make plants more amenable to conversion into biofuels, and help plants adapt to climate change. The next steps will be to apply the technology to Arabidopsis thaliana, a model plant, and to rice, the world's most important food crop.

ON THE MOVE

SipcamAdvan

SipcamAdvan has appointed Adam Burnhams as its vice president of marketing for Sipcam Agro USA, Inc. and its subsidiaries Advan LLC and Sostram Corporation.  Most recently, Mr Burnhams managed marketing efforts for BASF US crop protection business, based in RTP, North Carolina.  During his six years with BASF in the US he was also manager strategic accounts and marketing manager for the Corn Belt.  Before moving to North Carolina, he held positions with BASF in Germany, and in the UK with American Cyanamid’s subsidiary, Cyanamid Agriculture UK and with Shell Research. “Mr Burnhams has an exceptional track record both in the US and internationally, and will be an integral part of SipcamAdvan’s drive to become a $200 million company within five years,” said president and CEO Andy Lee. 

BASF Plant Science

Dr Hans Kast, who has been president and CEO of BASF Plant Science, Limburgerhof, Germany, since 2000, is to retire. He will be succeeded as of 1 July 2009 by Dr Peter Eckes, currently senior vice president, Global Research & Development Crop Protection. Dr Eckes was born in Königstein, Germany in 1963. After studying chemistry and receiving a doctorate from the University of Frankfurt, he joined BASF in 1992. After holding functions in research in Ludwigshafen, Dr Eckes assumed managerial positions in marketing and production in the Intermediates division in the US and in Germany. He has been senior vice president, Global Research & Development Crop Protection since 2002.

BCPC CONGRESS

An announcement that the two and half day BCPC Congress was being relaunched and returning to Glasgow on 9 -11 November (February CPM) was made earlier this year. An industry alliance between the BCPC and UBM (owner of Farmers Guardian, Informex USA, CPhI and Food Ingredients) will in future be running what is considered to be the world's largest gathering of crop science and technology business professionals. Running alongside the Congress will be the BCPC Exhibition - the leading trade exhibition for suppliers to the industry worldwide. The organisers say that the conference programme, which is being finalised at the moment in consultation with an expert advisory panel, will be announced shortly. Full details of the event, including how to register, can now be found on the dedicated Congress website (www.bcpccongress.com).

BOOK DISCOUNTS

Crop Protection Monthly subscribers are entitled to a 20% discount on all books from BCPC Publications. The range of BCPC books includes the standard international pesticide reference book, The Pesticide Manual, The UK Pesticide Guide, BCPC conference proceedings, practical training handbooks and guides including searchable CD-ROMs such as IdentiPest and Garden Detective. Place your orders direct with BCPC Publications and quote the discount code: CPMBCPC

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Crop Protection Monthly subscribers are entitled to a 20% discount on all books from CABI Publishing, which include a wide range of crop protection titles. The discount is also available on The Crop Protection Compendium on CD-ROM. Place your orders direct with CABI Publishing and quote the discount code: JAM20
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CROP PROTECTION MONTHLY ARCHIVES

The electronic archives of Crop Protection Monthly from January 1997 through to August 2007 are now freely available through the website. To view this service, go to:

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Publisher: Market Scope Europe Ltd ISSN 1366-5634

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Editor: Martin Redbond E-mail: [e-mail]

Contributors: Elaine Warrell, Bruce Knight

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