Quick Facts about Agrisure* insect protection traits

Agrisure* is the brand name for Syngenta's family of insect protection traits offered in Garst*, Golden Harvest* and NK* brand corn hybrids. Syngenta has also licensed Agrisure traits to select other companies.

• Agrisure CB/LL is the brand name for Syngenta’s corn borer-resistant trait (Bt11) and actually contains the same insecticidal protein as Monsanto’s YieldGard® Corn Borer gene.
• Agrisure RW is the brand name for Syngenta’s corn rootworm resistance event MIR604, still awaiting Japanese import approval. Until such approval, grain from hybrids with Agrisure RW must be channeled domestically.
• Agrisure GT is the GA21 event, a glyphosate-resistant trait initially marketed by Monsanto as the original Roundup Ready® gene. This source of glyphosate resistance in corn was predecessor to the Roundup Ready Corn 2 trait, now used by most other seed companies.
• Syngenta also markets double stacks the aforementioned traits including Agrisure GT/CB/LL, CB/LL/RW and GT/RW.

How does above-ground insect control with Agrisure CB/LL compare to that of Pioneer® brand hybrids with Herculex® I insect protection?

Agrisure CB/LL contains the same Bt protein as Monsanto’s YieldGard Corn Borer trait. As such, it controls corn borers but, unlike Herculex I, offers no in-plant protection against western bean cutworm or black cutworm and is less effective than Herculex I for fall armyworm control.

Agrisure RW is a new transgenic event from Syngenta that contains a new Bt protein, mcry3A. The insecticidal protein utilized in Agrisure RW is not the same as the Bt protein used in any other commercially available in-plant rootworm control technology.

Agrisure RW does not provide better efficacy than Herculex XTRA^. According to statements from Syngenta, Agrisure RW may provide rootworm efficacy equivalent to insecticides. Further testing will be required to determine whether Agrisure RW or YieldGard VT is the second best in-plant corn rootworm technology.

Syngenta’s submission to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated Agrisure RW provides protection from western corn rootworm (WCR) and northern corn rootworm (NCR) at a level similar to that of soil insecticides, and slightly better than Cruiser* seed-applied insecticide at the prescribed (high) rate for rootworm control. The data further states that the Agrisure RW level of protection against Mexican corn rootworm is lower than that against WCR and NCR.

A review of data submitted to EPA on the level of corn rootworm adult emergence indicates that for western corn rootworm, emergence relative to the check was variable, ranging from a 13.5% increase in beetles to a 96.6% reduction. Average adult emergence was 66.8% across ten trials. For northern corn rootworm, emergence reduction varied from 45 to 100% and averaged 69.4% reduction across seven trials. In contrast, Pioneer research has documented that hybrids with the Herculex RW^ rootworm protection trait had an average 92% reduction in the number of adult beetles emerging.

Complete contents of the Agrisure RW EPA filing may be viewed at http://www.epa.gov/oppbppd1/biopesticides/ingredients/tech_docs/brad_006509.pdf

Data from testing near Urbana by the University of Illinois in 2006 showed hybrids with the Agrisure RW trait suffered significant root pruning and lodging. The following table summarizes root pruning and consistency of Agrisure RW compared to other methods of rootworm control in the experiment:

¹Node injury ratings based on 0 to 3 injury scale: 0.00 = no feeding damage; 3.00 = three or more nodes pruned.
²Percentage consistency is the percentage of roots with a root node injury rating.

A complete summary of the University of Illinois testing may be viewed at http://www.ipm.uiuc.edu/bulletin/article.php?id=635

Syngenta has said it will have introductory volumes of Agrisure GT/CB/LL/RW hybrids available for 2008 planting.

The Better Bt™ vs. Agrisure Traits
Insect
Corn Borer	(Excellent)	(Excellent)
Black cutworm	(Very Good)
Western bean cutworm	(Very Good)
Fall armyworm	(Excellent)	(Suppression)
Corn rootworm+	(Very good to excellent)	(Very Good)
Approved in Japan
Available in Pioneer genetics
Triple Stack availability in 2008	(Widely available)	(Introductory volume)