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Monsanto is another step closer to releasing drought-tolerant cornMonsanto announced recently that its drought-tolerant corn has moved into the last phase before commercialization. The first drought-tolerance trait in corn was submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2008 for review. The company anticipates market launch sometime early next decade. During field trials last year in the Western Great Plains, drought-tolerant corn showed a 6 to 10 percent yield enhancement--a gain of 7 to 10 bushels on an average of 70 to 130 bushels per acre in some of the key drought-tolerant prone areas in the United States. Part of Monsanto's Sustainable Yield Initiative is to reduce key inputs by one-third while doubling yields. The move into Phase 4 of the Monsanto Research and Development pipeline was the fastest a product has advanced from one phase into another. "In the almost 25 years I have been with Monsanto, the advancement of our drought-tolerant corn product into Phase 4 is one of our most significant R&D milestones," said Steve Padgette, biotechnology lead for Monsanto. Padgette said the company is now selecting the best trait-germplasm combinations to deliver excellent performance, as well as value to producers. "This product and other yield improvements we are developing will reset the bar for on-farm productivity," Padgette said. Further submissions to the USDA and to other importing countries will be made in the coming months. This first trait is the beginning of a multi-stage program of improvements toward enhancing yield stability and consistency. In addition to the drought-tolerant corn, Monsanto also announced Smart Stax corn had moved to Phase 4. The company anticipates a launch in 2010. In June 2008, Monsanto submitted a request to the Environmental Protection Agency to set refuge requirements for Smart Stax at 5 percent in the northern Corn Belt and 20 percent in the southern states where cotton is planted. Dicamba- and glufosinate-tolerant cotton is the first three-way stack of herbicide-tolerant technology in the pipeline and has moved to Phase 2. It adds two new modes of action to the Roundup Ready Flex system. New to the R&D pipeline for Monsanto is second-generation, insect-protected Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybeans, primarily for the South American market. 2/9/09 Date: 2/3/09
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