Farm Progress

New Bayer seed tech: What it means for farmers

Bayer releases 46 new products in Dekalb and Asgrow brands for 2025 with high-tech backgrounds.

Tom J. Bechman, Midwest Crops Editor

September 24, 2024

3 Min Read
closeup of green cornstalks in a field
MORE TRAITS: Bayer will introduce 25 new products in its Dekalb brand for 2025.Tom J. Bechman

Two Bayer seed brands introduced 46 new products for 2025. Jamie Horton, Dekalb brand manager, sees it as getting new tools to help farmers maximize the return on their investment. Matthew Goddard, technical product lead for Asgrow, sees it as the company’s strong commitment to innovation.

Twenty-five of the new products are in the Dekalb corn lineup, including an expanded portfolio of SmartStax Pro products with RNAi technology. There is also a growing lineup of VT4Pro products with RNAi technology.

“We’re very excited to double down in 2025 on our portfolio of SmartStax Pro products, the strongest corn rootworm protection from Bayer, and VT4Pro, which brings the widest spectrum of insect protection from Bayer against some of the toughest corn pests,” Horton says. “These trait technologies, combined with the brand’s exclusive genetics, will help farmers protect their fields and achieve high yield potential.”

Beyond terminology

So, what do these technologies Bayer touts help you accomplish? Here are brief explanations:

SmartStax Pro with RNAi technology. This trait stack uses two Bt traits, Cry34Ab1/35Ab1 and Cry3Bb1, to produce proteins that cause pore formation in the midgut of the rootworm larvae, killing the insect. It is also the first trait with RNAi technology to combat corn rootworm. The RNAi-based mode of action stops production of an essential protein specific to corn rootworm, effectively causing mortality after ingestion.

SmartStax Pro also protects against other pests, including European corn borer, southwestern corn borer, fall armyworm, black cutworm and corn earworm, and provides tolerance to glyphosate and glufosinate herbicides.

RNAi technology. Keerti Rathore, Texas A&M AgriLife Research plant biotechnologist in the Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, explains RNAi technology in “Natural tech for ‘dimming’ genes brings transformative potential to agriculture,” published in Texas A&M AgriLife Today.

“RNAi silences a targeted gene in a plant or animal in a unique way,” Rathore says. “It differs from the better-known CRISPR technology, which completely targets and knocks out genes.

“CRISPR is like the on-off switch. The entire function of the gene is gone upon its knockout. In contrast, RNAi is like a dimmer switch used to adjust the lighting in the room, but, in this case, it dims the level of gene expression.”

In this case, as noted earlier, RNAi technology developed by Bayer interferes with a corn rootworm’s ability to create a specific protein critical to its own survival.

VT4Pro with RNAi technology. VT4Pro combines three aboveground modes of action with two belowground modes of action. It encompasses:

  • Trecepta technology to control aboveground pests like corn earworm and western bean cutworm 

  • RNAi-based mode of action to help manage corn rootworm 

  • Roundup Ready 2 technology to withstand glyphosate applications for weed control 

Trecepta technology. Introduced in 2022, Trecepta from Bayer refers to corn with three modes of action against aboveground corn pests. The third mode of action, Vip3A protein, joined two proven modes of action in VT Double Pro corn from Bayer. Adding the third mode of action expanded the pest spectrum to include western bean cutworm and black cutworm, and offers greater efficacy on insects like corn earworm.

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About the Author

Tom J. Bechman

Midwest Crops Editor, Farm Progress

Tom J. Bechman became the Midwest Crops editor at Farm Progress in 2024 after serving as editor of Indiana Prairie Farmer for 23 years. He joined Farm Progress in 1981 as a field editor, first writing stories to help farmers adjust to a difficult harvest after a tough weather year. His goal today is the same — writing stories that help farmers adjust to a changing environment in a profitable manner.

Bechman knows about Indiana agriculture because he grew up on a small dairy farm and worked with young farmers as a vocational agriculture teacher and FFA advisor before joining Farm Progress. He works closely with Purdue University specialists, Indiana Farm Bureau and commodity groups to cover cutting-edge issues affecting farmers. He specializes in writing crop stories with a focus on obtaining the highest and most economical yields possible.

Tom and his wife, Carla, have four children: Allison, Ashley, Daniel and Kayla, plus eight grandchildren. They raise produce for the food pantry and house 4-H animals for the grandkids on their small acreage near Franklin, Ind.

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