BASF Unveils Cutting-Edge Agricultural Innovations for Enhanced Sustainability and Yield

BASF innovation pipeline in agricultural includes advancements in pipeline of crop protection, seeds and traits, and digital solutions, including an industry-leading weed-control pipeline.

(IN BRIEF) BASF has announced the latest advancements in its agricultural innovation pipeline, with a focus on providing solutions for farmers to overcome local and crop-specific pest pressures, climate challenges, changing regulatory requirements, and rising consumer expectations. The company is directing its innovations to improve outcomes for major regional crops such as soy in the Americas, fruits and vegetables in Europe, and rice in Asia Pacific. BASF is advancing several weed management solutions, matching new herbicide modes of action with innovative traits and precision farming technologies in major crops such as soybean. The company is also developing insecticides to safeguard harvests from a broad spectrum of damaging piercing and sucking pests. BASF aims to improve fruit and vegetable quality and flavor, reduce food loss and waste, and introduce technologies to help rice farmers in Asia Pacific overcome challenges from resistant weeds, diseases, and pest insects. The company’s value of the innovation pipeline remains strong, with an estimated peak sales potential of more than €7.5 billion fueled by products launched within the next ten years.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUDWIGSHAFEN, 15-Mar-2023 — /EuropaWire/ —  BASF (ETR: BAS), the world’s largest chemical producer, announces a series of groundbreaking advancements in its agricultural innovation pipeline, encompassing crop protection, seeds, traits, and digital solutions. The company’s primary focus is on delivering essential solutions to help farmers tackle pest pressures, climate challenges, evolving regulatory requirements, and increasing consumer expectations. In line with its 2019 agriculture strategy, BASF is directing its innovations to enhance outcomes for major regional crops, such as soy in the Americas, fruits and vegetables in Europe, and rice in the Asia Pacific. The innovation pipeline remains robust, with an estimated peak sales potential exceeding €7.5 billion, driven by product launches within the next decade.

“Our goal is to become an ever more integrated provider of agricultural solutions and to expand the options we can offer to farmers. This is why we continue to invest substantially across our broad pipeline of agricultural technologies, with €944 million spent on Research & Development in 2022,” said Dr. Livio Tedeschi, President of BASF Agricultural Solutions. “Farmers can continue to rely on us to innovate and deliver new active ingredients, innovative formulations, and traits to get more value from their production, both economically and environmentally.”

“Our pipeline demonstrates that we are not only leveraging our deep expertise in chemistry and environmental sciences, but also matching it with leading biotechnology and digitalization approaches for next generation solutions,” added Dr. Peter Eckes, President R&D and Regulatory of BASF Agricultural Solutions. “BASF’s industry-leading weed-control pipeline is a premier example of how our multidisciplinary approach yields solutions that balance the needs of farmers, society and the environment.”

Revolutionary Weed Management Solutions for Farmers in the Americas and Europe

BASF is advancing multiple weed management solutions for North and Latin America, pairing novel herbicide active ingredients with innovative traits and precision farming technologies in key crops like soybean. These solutions promote climate-smart and environmentally responsible farming practices, such as minimal tillage and efficient use of crop protection chemistries:

1. A new L-glufosinate ammonium (L-GA) active herbicide formulation will significantly reduce the required active ingredient quantity, lowering operating costs and promoting sustainable distribution and application compared to current solutions. Farmers can anticipate the new L-GA formulation from mid-decade, starting in the United States.
2. Tirexor® Active, a novel PPO inhibiting herbicide (protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase), tackles weeds resistant to other PPO inhibitors. Following its approval in Australia in 2020 and Canada in 2022, it has seen strong customer adoption. Market introduction is expected in Argentina for soybean farmers in 2024 and the United States in 2025, with further expansion into other Latin American countries and Asia Pacific.
3. BASF, in collaboration with Corteva, is developing a new PPO herbicide and corresponding herbicide tolerance gene for over-the-top weed control in soybean. This solution, which is expected to be available in seed varieties in the early 2030s, will provide farmers with greater flexibility in using PPO herbicides for post-emergence weed control.
4. An entirely new herbicide mode of action, currently in the late research phase, will further support resistance management. BASF, in partnership with Corteva, is developing the corresponding herbicide tolerance trait for soybean, providing farmers with innovative trait technology through leading soybean seeds from both companies. This long-term approach will offer competitive alternatives for soybean farmers well into the 2040s.

Unparalleled Weed Management Solutions for European Farmers

BASF is introducing unmatched weed management solutions for European farmers:

1. The SMART SPRAYING SOLUTION by Bosch BASF Smart Farming is now commercially available in Europe for corn, sunflower, sugar beet, and soybean. The technology improves herbicide efficiency and is initially accessible in Germany and Hungary through a partnership with German-based agricultural machinery manufacturer Dammann. Additional partnerships and field trials are underway in the Americas and Europe, with more commercial launches planned within the 2023/24 season.
2. In 2022, Luximo® Active was approved for wheat farmers in Great Britain, providing a significant advancement in weed management. With its novel mode of action, Luximo effectively controls blackgrass and Italian ryegrass – some of the most challenging and yield-damaging weeds. Further Luximo registrations are expected across Europe by mid-decade, offering a new tool for resistant weed management.

BASF is committed to enhancing fruit and vegetable quality, flavor, and reducing food loss and waste in Europe through seed breeding and innovations in chemistry and digital technologies:

1. BASF is preparing to launch its latest insecticide active ingredient, Axalion™ Active, a new chemistry class with a novel mode of action designed to protect harvests from a wide range of piercing and sucking pests. Compatible with beneficial insects and pollinators, Axalion counters pests that have developed resistance to existing chemistries. Launches will begin in Asia Pacific in 2023, followed by Europe and Latin America.
2. Following its success in controlling diseases in cereal, soybean, and corn, BASF plans to introduce Revysol® Active in fruits, vegetables, and rice starting in 2023. The Revyona® formulation retains Revysol’s exceptional performance and favorable regulatory profile, ensuring reliable yield and quality while controlling powdery mildew, scab, and other diseases in tree fruits, grapes, and potatoes.
3. BASF’s vegetable seeds business has developed Sunions®, the first tearless onion variety available in supermarkets, which has been available in France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom since 2022.
4. BASF now offers European farmers vegetable seed varieties with resistance to aggressive and hard-to-control viruses, including Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus (ToBRFV) and Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV), which cause food loss and waste due to crop loss and quality impacts.
5. BASF’s digital agronomic advice for fruits and vegetables has been enhanced in 2022 with the integration of decision support systems from the acquisition of Horta, an Italian digital farming company. The new Agrigenius Vite application enables wine growers to make smarter fungicide application decisions, maximizing yield and quality while minimizing environmental impact.

Comprehensive Solutions for Improving Rice Outcomes in Asia Pacific

Farmers cultivating rice, the primary crop in Asia, face increasing challenges from resistant weeds, diseases, and pest insects. BASF actively supports farmers by offering a wide portfolio of technologies, with several new chemistries and formulations expected before mid-decade to improve rice outcomes:

1. BASF, in collaboration with industry partners, is developing a new insecticide mode of action for rice hopper control. Providing long residual control and a favorable regulatory profile without cross-resistance to market standards, BASF is accelerating the insecticide’s development to reach Asia Pacific farmers by mid-decade.
2. BASF’s new Luximo® herbicide, part of a chemistry class that is the first new mode of action classification update in four decades, controls a broad range of problematic weeds in rice that have developed resistance to other modes of action. Luximo will be launched in Indonesia in 2024, with other Asian countries to follow by mid-decade.
3. Kixor® CS, a new herbicide formulation of Kixor® Active, can be applied beyond pre-emergence to early-post, giving growers greater flexibility to apply further into the season. The innovative encapsulation of the herbicide increases crop safety while enabling long-lasting residual control of broadleaf weeds. The new technology is expected to be available to Asia Pacific rice farmers by mid-decade.
4. Revysol®-based products will be launched within the next two years to control major rice diseases such as sheath blight and dirty panicles. These new formulations will be available under the product names Cevya®, Mibelya®, and Revyrize®.
5. Seltima® Plus, a disease management solution for rice with built-in resistance management that will be introduced in the region in the next years. The combination of two fungicides provides yield and seed quality increases over market standards. In 2022, registration was granted in Indonesia with India, China and other countries to follow.
6. The Provisia® rice system and Clearfield® production system for direct-seeded rice enable growers to make better use of limited arable land and serve as an alternative to wet paddy cultivation. These yield-preserving technologies will debut in India, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines in the second half of the decade, with Provisia entering the Chinese rice market by 2025. BASF announced a long-term partnership with Seedworks Philippines to introduce BASF’s non-GM trait for Provisia herbicide-tolerance into the Philippines’ hybrid rice market. This collaboration is one of ten different seed partnerships across five countries in Asia that will launch Clearfield and Provisia herbicide-tolerant traits in rice.
7. The decision-making quality of xarvio® FIELD MANAGER is continuously improving to optimize sustainable rice production in Japan. To support more efficient use of pesticides, BASF is updating the platform with new insect pest models expected to be available by 2025. Disease models will also be enhanced to support more precise fungicide timing, dosing, and product selection recommendations. Owing to the accurate and continuously improving model-based insights, xarvio has evolved into the de facto standard tool for crop protection.

About BASF’s Agricultural Solutions division

Farming is fundamental to provide enough healthy and affordable food for a rapidly growing population while reducing environmental impacts. Working with partners and agricultural experts and by integrating sustainability criteria into all business decisions, we help farmers to create a positive impact on sustainable agriculture. That’s why we invest in a strong R&D pipeline, connecting innovative thinking with practical action in the field. Our portfolio comprises seeds and specifically selected plant traits, chemical and biological crop protection, solutions for soil management, plant health, pest control and digital farming. With expert teams in the lab, field, office and in production, we strive to find the right balance for success – for farmers, agriculture and future generations. In 2022, our division generated sales of €10.3 billion. For more information, please visit www.agriculture.basf.com or any of our social media channels.

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. More than 111,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €87.3 billion in 2022. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.

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SOURCE: BASF SE