A Roundup Ready soybean variety with an aphid resistance trait would be the first of its kind in Canada if its registration clears as expected.
Syngenta Seeds Canada on Wednesday announced it plans to add S25-F2 to its NK glyphosate-tolerant soybean lineup. The variety is “awaiting registration” but has already been endorsed by the Ontario Oil and Protein Seed Crops Committee (OOPSCC), the company said.
“Soybean aphids first arrived in Ontario in 2001 and we’ve seen them at certain sites every year since,” said Don McClure, breeding project lead for soybeans at Syngenta’s Canadian seed wing, based north of London, Ont.
Read Also
Australia raises wheat harvest estimate by nearly two million tonnes
Australia’s ABARES raised its forecast for national wheat production this season by around 1.8 million tonnes to 35.6 million tonnes, cementing expectations for a bumper harvest that will add to abundant global supply and pressure prices.
The aphids “can cause significant stress for plants and the aphid-resistant gene is shown to give good protection,” he said in the company’s release.
The variety’s agronomic package also includes resistance to “several common soybean diseases in Ontario,” McClure said.
Syngenta in its release also noted the OOPSCC soybean field trials this year are to be assessed and reported using the RM (relative maturity) system adopted by the U.S. and Mexico, rather than the “old” CHU (crop heat unit) system.
The company said Wednesday it had been “advocating for a change” in the trials for several years.
Ranking of maturities was initiated to provide producers with a rating system similar to U.S. soybean industry standards, OOPSCC said in its 2010 variety trial report.
Rankings are not assigned by OOPSCC but provided by the seed sponsors, the committee said.
Syngenta also said Wednesday it will have four other NK brand Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield soybean varieties — S05-B3, S16-J4, S25-W4, and S28-M1 — in this year’s lineup and available for spring planting.
