BASF outlines latest crop protection products, seeds and traits

German chemical and biotech giant BASF has set out its latest crop protection products, seeds and traits including advanced weed management solutions for farmers in the Americas and Europe for major crops such as soyabeans.

New products included Tirexor Active, a new protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO)-inhibiting herbicide, controlling weeds currently resistant to other PPO inhibitors, Bayer said on 15 March. Approved for use in Australia in 2020 and in Canada in 2022, it was expected to be introduced for soyabean farmers in Argentina in 2024 and in the USA in 2025. Introduction in other Latin America countries and Asia Pacific would follow with expansion into different crops.

BASF said it was also developing a solution for over-the-top control of weeds in soyabeans, developing an additional PPO herbicide with a corresponding herbicide tolerance gene. That gene would be incorporated into a new herbicide tolerance trait developed by Corteva, which was a key element of a multi-generational soyabean trait pipeline collaboration that was expected to be available in seed varieties in the early 2030s, the company said.

For the European market, BASF has introduced weed management solutions for farmers, which included the Smart Spraying Solution by Bosch BASF Smart Farming for use in corn, sunflower, sugar beet and soyabean farming.

The Smart Spraying Solution technology, which supported a more efficient use of herbicides, was accessible to farmers through a partnership with German-based agricultural machinery manufacturer Dammann initially in Germany and Hungary, BASF said.

Additional partnerships and field trials in the Americas and Europe, with the aim of commercial launches in the 2023/24 marketing season, were being carried out by Bosch BASF Smart Farming.