Agricultural News
Bayer Crop Science Expanding Investment in Wheat Industry
Sun, 19 Dec 2010 15:48:44 CST
From Lincoln, Nebraska to Rehovot, Israel, Bayer Crop Science is quickly expanding its investment in the wheat industry. The global enterprise signed two agreements this week with Evogene LTD and the University of Nebraska- Lincoln (UNL) to improve wheat breeding and commercialization capabilities.
Eralier this month, Bayer and Evogene, announced a five-year collaboration to develop and introduce improved wheat varieties, including increased wheat yield, drought tolerance and fertilizer use efficiency. Bayer will have exclusive commercialization rights for any resulting traits for wheat.
The new agreement is an extension of an ongoing partnership initiated in 2007 by the two companies to increase rice productivity and yield. Evogene develops improved plant traits through combining biotechnology and advanced breeding methods, based on computational genomic technologies.
"The wheat industry is facing challenges, such as changing climate, the decline of mineral resources used for fertilizer and the need to increase crop yields," Lykele van der Broek, chief operating officer of Bayer, said. "We look forward to working together with Evogene in the area of wheat research to help tackle these issues."
In a similar partnership, Bayer and UNL announced a non-exclusive agreement on Wed., Dec. 15 that will give Bayer access to the university's wheat germplasm and give support for the university's cereal grains programs.
Bayer will offer scholarships and fellowships for students studying cereal grains and establish support for research and development in a new Agricultural Research Division Crop Innovation Fund. Bayer also will build a wheat breeding station near Lincoln, the company's first in North America.
"The agreement between UNL and Bayer enables UNL to continue releasing improved wheat varieties through the same channels as in the past," Dr. Ronald Green, UNL vice-president, said. "Agreements of this type benefit Nebraska wheat growers because they will have a greater selection of improved varieties."
Bayer will also fund a presidential chair at UNL named for Nebraska wheat growers. Wheat breeder P. Stephen Baenziger, who has been a member of the UNL faculty since 1986, will be the first to hold the Nebraska Wheat Growers Presidential Chair.
"I am deeply honored to receive this recognition," Baenziger said. "My predecessors built this program and as part of a team involving university, federal, industry and grower cooperators, we have tried to enhance its state, regional, national and global reach."
Bayer's collaboration with UNL follows two similar agreements made this year between Monsanto and two other public wheat breeding programs at Kansas State University and &Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech). Syngenta also announced a five-year partnership this year with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMAT), USW and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) support agreements made according to a set of principles that were established by the National Wheat Improvement Committee in January 2010. The principles acknowledge that private industry investment will provide benefits to variety development, so long as the collaborative partners maintain the open exchange of germplasm and information. Click here to review those principles that have been established by US WHeat and the National Association of Wheat Growers.
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