ST. LOUIS — Bayer has long expressed confidence in its corn traits portfolio — and the most recent data doesn’t disappoint. SmartStax Technology and SmartStax PRO with RNAi Technology offered significantly better protection vs. the competition in 34 Bayer trials in medium to very high corn rootworm pressure environments.* 

“We have complete confidence in our corn rootworm products — SmartStax Technology and SmartStax PRO Technology. These trials confirm SmartStax PRO with RNAi Technology, which offers three modes of action against corn rootworm, provides the strongest biotech defense available in 2022,*” said Travis Coffman, corn and regional crops trait marketing manager. “While the data tells the story, our agronomists could tell even as we were pulling the plants from the field. You could see the difference.”

This season, large strip trials were conducted across the Corn Belt to evaluate systems approaches for corn rootworm, analyzing products in the 95-115 RM range. Bayer corn products evaluated included:

• SmartStax PRO RIB Complete corn blend
• SmartStax RIB Complete corn blend

Competitor products evaluated included:

• Qrome products and Optimum AcreMax XTreme products from Corteva Agriscience
• Agrisure Duracade E-Z Refuge products from Syngenta

Researchers collected data from 40 locations across 10 states (KS, CO, NE, IA, IL, ND, SD, OH, MN and WI).** There were no significant differences between corn rootworm technologies at the six low corn rootworm pressure locations.*** SmartStax Technology provided significantly better corn rootworm protection vs. Qrome products at 34 medium to very high corn rootworm pressure environments.** For SmartStax PRO Technology, results showed three times greater root node protection from corn rootworm vs. Qrome products in medium to very high corn rootworm pressure environments.* The study represents Bayer’s most comprehensive root node damage research to date.

“The trials showed that both SmartStax Technology and SmartStax PRO Technology offered significantly better protection against corn rootworm than Qrome products across 34 medium to very high corn rootworm pressure environments.* Protection beats polish, you might say,” said Coffman.

Corn rootworm damage includes feeding scars, tunneling and pruning. Corn rootworm damage was measured and determined using the Iowa State node injury score scale (NIS0-3). In head-to-head comparisons against Qrome products across 34 locations with medium to very high corn rootworm pressure, SmartStax Technology had less average corn rootworm damage in 79% of the trials, and SmartStax PRO Technology had less average corn rootworm damage in 100% of the trials, which is no surprise given SmartStax PRO Technology’s three modes of action against corn rootworm.*

Corn rootworm pressure is on the rise. Scouting and planning are key to staying ahead of a pest that costs farmers more than $1 billion annually in crop damage and increased control costs. Crop rotation and other best management practices are highly recommended. SmartStax PRO Technology and SmartStax Technology provide another tool to help reduce corn rootworm damage in medium to high corn rootworm pressure environments.*

In addition to corn rootworm, SmartStax PRO Technology can offer farmers protection against above-ground pests including European corn borer, southwestern corn borer, fall armyworm, black cutworm and corn earworm.

Trait innovation is just one tool in the fight against corn rootworm. Bayer has also provided close to 2,000 sticky trap kits to farmers through The Watch, a resource created to help refresh corn rootworm scouting knowledge and drive action toward managing corn rootworm. InsectForecast.com is another resource that offers an easy way to track hatches and beetle movement throughout the Corn Belt, helping farmers understand current and future pressures.

Volumes of SmartStax PRO Technology will be limited for 2022.**** Farmers who are interested in trying this new technology should contact their local Bayer representative and visit SmartStaxPRO.com to learn more about the product. 

###

*34 2021 Bayer Trials in the corn belt (KS, CO, NE, IA, IL, ND, SD, OH, MN) in medium to very high CRW pressure environments (as shown by a Node Injury Score of 0.76-3.0 on a 0-3 scale in the non-CRW traited check) vs SmartStax RIB Complete Corn Blend, Agrisure Duracade E-Z Refuge, Qrome products and Optimum AcreMax Xtreme products in the 95-115 RM range with comparable trait packages.

**40 2021 Bayer Trials in the corn belt (KS, CO, NE, IA, IL, ND, SD, OH, MN, WI) in various CRW pressure environments (as shown by a Node Injury Score of 0.5-3.0 on a 0-3 scale in the non-CRW traited check) vs SmartStax RIB Complete Corn Blend, Agrisure Duracade E-Z Refuge,  Qrome products and Optimum AcreMax Xtreme products in the 95-115 RM range with comparable trait packages.

***Locations having a Node Injury Score of > 0.5 - < 0.75 on a 0-3 scale in the non-CRW traited check).

****SmartStax PRO corn products will be commercially available for the 2022 growing season.