Syngenta announced today that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the Agrisure Duracade 5122, E-Z Refuge and Agrisure Duracade 5222, E-Z Refuge trait stacks. These single-bag refuge products will provide growers with unmatched corn rootworm protection plus a convenient 5 percent integrated refuge.

“In the wake of rising corn rootworm pressure and concerns about the continued efficacy of current rootworm technologies, the Agrisure Duracade 5122, E-Z Refuge and Agrisure Duracade 5222, E-Z Refuge products offer farmers a new control option so they can grow more corn,” said Jill Wheeler, Syngenta product lead, commercial traits. “These products promote technology preservation because they provide two modes of action (including one that is new to the market) against corn rootworm and integrated refuge for automatic compliance.”

The Agrisure Duracade 5122, E-Z Refuge product combines the Agrisure Duracade trait with the trusted Agrisure RW trait for dual modes of action against corn rootworm. This single-bag refuge product also contains the Agrisure CB/LL trait for corn borer control, the Herculex I trait for an additional mode of action against corn borer plus broad lepidopteran control, and the Agrisure GT trait for glyphosate tolerance. It is conveniently packaged in a 5 percent integrated refuge.

Agrisure Duracade 5222, E-Z Refuge contains all of the same traits found in the Agrisure Duracade 5122, E-Z Refuge product plus the Agrisure Viptera trait for breakthrough control of the multi-pest complex, a collection of highly destructive lepidopteran corn pests. It is also conveniently packaged in a 5 percent integrated refuge.

The Agrisure Duracade trait expresses a unique engineered protein (eCry3.1Ab) that protects against Western corn rootworm, Northern corn rootworm and Mexican corn rootworm. Syngenta and university research trials have shown the Agrisure Duracade trait is highly effective in controlling corn rootworm. Research by the US Department of Agriculture reports that the trait has the highest reduction in beetle emergence (99.79 percent) of any commercial CRW trait.*

In 2012, Syngenta, announced the EPA registration of the Agrisure Duracade trait (Event 5307) and the completion of the consultation process at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, followed by USDA approval earlier this year. The Agrisure Duracade trait has also received cultivation approval in Canada and import approval from Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Taiwan.

* Field measures of Western corn rootworm mortality caused by transgenic corn expressing the mCry3A (MIR604) and eCry3.1Ab (5307) proteins. (Hibbard et al. ESA Meeting December 2010)