Arva, Ontario, Canada
January 18, 2011

Yield data and field evaluations* from the 2010 growing season show Syngenta‟s Agrisure Viptera™ trait delivers unsurpassed control of ear-feeding insects, demonstrating improved control vs. triple stacks.

Hybrids with the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack also demonstrated yield advantages vs. competitive triple stacks. The products with the Agrisure Viptera 3111 stack outyielded Pioneer® brand hybrids by an average of 609 kg/ha. The trials also demonstrated a 565 kg/ha yield advantage versus competitive DeKalb® brand Genuity™ SmartStax™ offerings, and 754 kg/ha over competitive DeKalb hybrids with the VT Triple PRO™ trait stack.

Under significant ear-feeding insect pressure, hybrids containing the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack averaged 458 kg/ha better than hybrids with the Agrisure® 3000GT triple stack. In fact, hybrids with the Agrisure Viptera 3111 stack outperformed their Agrisure 3000GT stack counterparts in all geographies and insect pressures, delivering a 276 kg/ha yield advantage. In areas with heavy ear-feeding insect pressure, the yield advantage for hybrids with the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack was as much as 2.62 metric tonnes per hectare.

“Our 2010 trials included a range of geographies and a range of pest pressures,” says Bruce Battles, head, Agronomy Marketing with Syngenta. “We saw clean ears from the Agrisure Viptera trait in all of them, but of course the difference was most pronounced in plots that experienced heavier pressure. In those instances, there was no question which trait package was delivering better control.”

Corn hybrids containing the Agrisure Viptera trait will be available for planting in the U.S. and Canada in 2011. The technology was previewed by more than 7000 growers who experienced the unsurpassed performance of Agrisure Viptera technology in select areas this past summer at Syngenta field trials.

Among them was Tom Church, Prophetstown, IL. “We had a lot of insect pressure this 2010 growing season, and the numbers of moths in the traps has drastically increased in the last three years. Even with all of this insect pressure, the corn with the Agrisure Viptera trait was insect-free. The other hybrids and competitors in the same plot were chewed up, had kernel damage on the ends or had been bored through.”

The technology also demonstrated industry-leading control of Western Bean Cutworm, according to grower Greg Mullins, Plainview, NE, who planted one of the Agrisure Viptera™ trials. “Growers had a great reaction in the field when they saw the difference in control between the Agrisure Viptera trait compared to Syngenta and competitor hybrids. The way the Agrisure Viptera trait controls Western Bean Cutworm alone is a huge advantage. I haven‟t seen SmartStax™ or Herculex® handle a western bean cutworm infestation like the Agrisure Viptera trait did. This is very exciting technology.”

2010 Agrisure Viptera trait trials were conducted under regulated trial protocols, and compared performance of the trait stack with performance of other Agrisure trait stacks as well as the Genuity™ SmartStax™ stack, and the VT Triple PRO™ trait stack.

The Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack features Vip3A, the industry„s first vegetative insecticidal protein in corn. Vip3A has demonstrated highly effective multi-pest control of corn earworm, fall armyworm, Western Bean Cutworm, black cutworm, dingy cutworm, stalk borer and sugarcane borer, among others. Syngenta estimates damage from these pests costs North American corn growers 6.04 million tonnes of corn and $1.1 billion in annual yield and grain quality losses**.

In the U.S., the Agrisure Viptera trait and trait stacks have received approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), completed consultation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and received deregulation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The single Agrisure Viptera trait also is approved for cultivation in Canada and Brazil, and the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack and Agrisure Viptera 3110 trait stack are approved for cultivation in the U.S. and Canada. The single trait is approved for import to Australia, Canada, Mexico, the Philippines, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. In addition, the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack and the Agrisure Viptera 3110 trait stack are approved for import into Canada, Japan, Mexico and the Philippines.

Agrisure Viptera technology is now available for the 2011 planting season, from Syngenta Seeds NK® Brand, in hybrids agronomically adapted for Canadian corn production. For more information about the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack, visit www.agrisureviptera.com.

* Syngenta strip trial with hybrids of similar RMs, adjusted for moisture to +/- 3.
** 2Sources: Census 2007 USDA, USDA Risk Management Agency‘s internal indemnity database. Aflatoxin Center of Excellence of the South, Syngenta Entomology Research.

Website: http://www.nkcanada.com

Published: January 18, 2011