Corteva Agriscience to launch new product to tackle yellow stem borer in rice better

Corteva Agriscience has announced that it will introduce a crop protection product developed through Seed Application Technology to help farmers tackle yellow stem borer in paddy better. It also ensures better germination and uniform growth of the plant.

“We have applied for relevant certification to launch the product in the Indian market,” said Rahoul Sawani, President (South Asia), Coreteva Agriscience, which was a major agricultural unit of DowDuPont before being spun off as an independent company in 2018.

Showcasing the solution at the company’s R&D centre here on Tuesday, he said the company strived to develop products that ensure every seed gave more yield and crop protection product comprising lesser active ingredients. “Resiliency of food chain is extremely important,” he said.

He said the seed application technology ensures integrated pest and crop management where the focus was on minimising inputs.

The US-based company, which offers crop protection products and seeds, has about 2,000 employees in the country with three production and manufacturing facilities and five research and development facilities.

The company said the upcoming product would make the protection of paddy seedlings easier and protect yields in the range of 3-5 per cent. It said the number of sprays through the life of the crop will come down significantly.

The company has developed a machine which can uniformly apply a proprietary chemical compound it has developed around the paddy seed.

“Unlike the manual method where farmers apply coating to seeds, this machine applies the pesticide uniformly around the seed,” a company executive said.

Prasanta Patra, Regional Commercialisation and Business Lead of Seed Applied Technologies Portfolio (Asia Pacific region) of Corteva Agriscience, said targetted use of crop protection technology proved to be beneficial in many ways. Besides ensuring efficient use of chemicals, it would also reduce use of fossil fuel.

“It is a convenient solution that protects rice seedlings from damage from yellow stem borer and has demonstrated good performance. This gives the seed thorough protection during its most vulnerable time and can increase yield potential,” a company executive said.

“Seed treatments help imrpove seed and plant health as well as germination rates. They protect platns from the start when they are most vulnerable to insects and diseases. Seed treatments also contribute to reducing a farmer’s environmental footprints as well,” he said.