AgriNews, IL
05-15-06
Growers can unlock hidden yield potential
BRANDON, S.D. — U.S. growers have adopted the use of glyphosate weedcontrol systems on 90 percent of soybean acres, but new challenges and returning pests are making it harder to simply plant, spray and harvest.
To be profitable, growers are addressing these obstacles and asking themselves,
“How do I break through my yield barrier?”
According to Larry Sax, technical services manager for NK Brand Seeds, growers are the ones who hold the key to higher yields, and real answers can be found in today’s products.
“To improve bottom lines and crop productivity, soybean growers simply need to take advantage of current technology,” Sax said.
“NK Brand provides better choices for growers who are looking to open the door to higher yields. Disease-resistant varieties and seed treatments can help growers protect their genetic investment.
“The first thing growers need to do is evaluate their local agronomic stress issues, particularly disease pressure, and choose varieties based on those needs,” Sax continued.
“In fact, challenges such as phytophthora and iron deficiency chlorosis, should play a primary role in seed selection.”
Seedling diseases often are main culprits for yield loss and include phytophthora root rot, pythium root rot and fusarium root rot.
Later-season diseases such as brown stem rot and sudden death syndrome, as well as soybean cyst nematode, can reduce yields, as well.
In 2004, these common problems cost Minnesota soybean growers 50 million bushels of yield, according to University of Minnesota research.
The same year, Iowa growers lost 126 million bushels due to white mold, SCN,
SDS and brown spot, as reported by Palle Pedersen, soybean extension agronomist and assistant professor at Iowa State University .
Many of these diseases can be curbed with seed selection, Sax said.
“NK Brand soybean varieties feature strong disease packages tailored to

common challenges, and several are bred to perform well in localized environments,” he said.
For example, several NK Brand soybean varieties include resistance to phytophthora root rot and BSR. Varieties also can be selected for resistance or tolerance to white mold, stem canker, iron deficiency chlorosis, SDS and even
SCN. r added security, seed treatments such as Cruiser Maxx Pak, greatly reduce early season diseases and limit early-season insect damage and disease vectoring.
“Addressing these diseases up front saves valuable time and protects yield potential from the start,” Sax said.
“In 2006, NK Brand added 17 varieties to the market – all with effective disease packages and available with seed treatment. These unique genetics and effective technologies are part of a continuous pipeline for soybean development.”
NK Brand has a broad product development program, which has more than doubled in size due in part to recent acquisitions by Syngenta Seeds.
In addition to more than 800,000 annual soybean research plots, NK Brand has access to extensive winter nursery capabilities, allowing researchers to test varieties all year round. Those varieties come from 11 soybean breeding sites, including one added in Brookings, S.D., in 2005. echnology should improve production efficiencies, reduce risks associated with crop production, improve yie ld, improve crop value or create new opportunities,”
Sax said.
“The first generation of biotech is ending. Future products will increasingly require manipulation of complex traits where genomics and plant breeding will play a key role.”
As research moves beyond products fueled by major dominant genes, researchers need to be more creative to unlock future solutions.
Such innovation is the focus of scientists at Syngenta Seeds breeding sites, as well as Syngenta Biotechnology Inc. in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
SBI researchers use a combination of science and cutting-edge technology to develop innovative solutions that help growers meet tomorrow’s challenges.
“For example, Syngenta employs the Selectable Genetic Marker System using non-toxic elements, such as growth substances and carbon supply which are

natural to the plant,” Sax said.
“This method is innovative, safe and environmentally friendly for plant transformation. It serves as an efficient alternative to using antibiotic resistance and herbicide tolerance markers in genetically engineered crops.”
The products of this marker-assisted approach are indistinguishable from their non-transgenic counterparts with respect to compositional analysis of grain and agronomic characterization, including yield.
Early work on SCN resistance thought that resistance was genetically complex.
However, through marker technology, we now know that just a few genes are essential to effectively identify resistant lines,” Sax explained.
And, with more than 90 percent accuracy, the marker technology greatly reduces the time needed to evaluate and incorporate resistance to SCN.” sing this new tool, scientists also are exploring pests and diseases such as aphids, fusarium and rhizoctonia, and they are working to improve variety resilience to phytophthora, white mold, SCN, BSR and SDS. ddition, these varieties eventually will be stacked with genetics for iron deficiency chlorosis, drought and stress tolerance.
With all this new technology, growers still need to have their end-use in mind.
“When choosing seed, growers need to ask themselves, ‘Where am I going to market this crop?’” Sax said.
“If delivering locally to a processor, they should take into account protein or oil characteristics. Processors often have preferred varieties even if they do not offer a premium.”
NK Brand Extra Edge characterization identifies soybeans that meet protein and oil guidelines set by the United Soybean Board. Currently, 32 high-protein and 35 high-oil NK Brand varieties are available.
According to Sax, researchers will continue to develop better choices and improve crop value for the emerging markets by using the Selectable Genetic
Marker System.
They are working to pinpoint which varieties are best for specialized crop processing, including animal feed, food grade exports and vegetable oil.
For example, quality traits such as low linolenic and mid-oleic oils are currently being evaluated to broaden the Syngenta Seeds product line-up for soybean producers.

“These are just some of the ways NK Brand provides growers with better choices to unlock the yield potential on their farms,” Sax said.
“When you add more than 35 years of NK Brand proprietary research to the daily
Syngenta investment of $750,000 in seed breeding and biotechnology research, growers receive the right combination of choices that can open the door to profitability.”