Corn growers in eastern Canada have a new tool in their pest management toolbox with the registration of VT4PRO with RNAi technology from Bayer Crop Science.
The company says the trait will deliver the latest in corn rootworm defence, with above-ground control and effective root protection, providing a broad spectrum of defence for growers against the increasing problem of yield-robbing insects.
The versatile product has a broad spectrum, protecting acres from fall armyworm, corn earworm, southwestern corn borer, western bean cutworm, black cutworm, European corn borer and corn rootworm. “VT4PRO complements other in-market solutions like Trecepta RIB Complete and SmartStax PRO, providing one of the most comprehensive above and below ground corn insect defence packages currently available to growers,” says Bryan Bryson, Bayer’s traits and licensing campaign manager.
In this report from Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ont., Bayer market development manager Adam Pfeffer notes that yield-robbing pests are increasingly showing up in Canadian fields, with southwestern Ontario, eastern Ontario, and small pockets of Quebec considered particularly high-risk regions.
In the case of corn rootworm, Pfeffer explains how VT4PRO uses two below ground modes of action, including RNAi Technology, to deliver effective root protection in low to moderate corn rootworm pressure situations by interfering with a pest’s ability to create life-essential proteins. He notes that the trait will be available from a full range of seed brands for the 2025 crop year. Watch the interview below.
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