Bayer CropScience is bringing a new weapon to the fight against corn rootworm and other yield-robbing insects.
VT4PRO includes RNAi-based traits at the Bt protein, and incorporates both above- and below-ground traits to control pests. It delivers the latest in corn rootworm defense below the soil, and adds comprehensive above-ground control.
Adam Pfeffer, agronomic solutions lead with Bayer, told Farmtario at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show 2024, that corn rootworm is a challenging pest for Eastern Canadian growers. That challenging production environment is what VT4PRO is aimed at.
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Above ground it’s got three modes of action that control an array of pests like European corn borer, corn earworm, fall armyworm and western bean cutworm, then below ground it’s got two modes of action that control corn rootworm, Pfeffer says. The RNAi-based traits prevent the insect from producing a vital protein, killing it.
“It’s a totally different mode of action,” Pfeffer says. “But it pairs very well with Bt protein.”
VT4PRO also includes the Roundup Ready trait for herbicide tolerance.
“It really fits a broad range of acres here in Eastern Canada,” Pfeffer says. “Growers that aren’t truly committed to continuous corn, lighter soil types, where they’re concerned about western bean cutworm, where they’ve also got some rootworm in their acres, this will be a great fit.”
In a media release announcing the new product, Bayer noted that “yield-robbing pests are increasingly showing up in Canadian fields, with Southwestern Ontario, Eastern Ontario, and small pockets of Quebec being considered particularly high-risk regions.”
Worst-case scenarios see corn rootworm robbing as much as half of the crop’s potential yield.
