The independent seed specialist KWS has brought six new hybrid corn varieties to market for its two Brazilian brands KWS and Riber. They offer a leading combination of maximum genetic potential and protection against insects.
“We’re very proud to be able to offer these innovative hybrid corn varieties to Brazilian farmers,” says Marcelo Salles, KWS’ regional director for Brazil and Argentina. “The new hybrids are highly competitive in terms of yield, tolerance to widely used herbicides, and resistance to a number of caterpillar pests.”
The new corn hybrids combine KWS’ latest proprietary genetic material with the trait stack VIP3, which has been developed by Syngenta and is licensed to KWS. Following the merger of the breeding activities KWS acquired in Brazil, the performance of the local genetic material has been enhanced enormously, also thanks to the possibility of knowledge sharing as part of KWS’ international network. The new hybrids thus embody the latest breeding progress achieved by KWS. Syngenta’s VIP3 technology supplies plants with a high level of resistance to a broad range of Lepidoptera pests throughout their vegetation period. These pests are widespread in Brazil and can be combated with conventional pesticides only by applying large quantities.
Further Expansion of the Breeding Program
Under its corn breeding program, KWS will further expand its seed portfolio in Brazil with a large variety of high-performance hybrids in the coming years:
“KWS’ breeding program is quickly picking up speed, and we plan to launch many new corn hybrids over the next few years. Our breeding progress and our sales figures make us confident that we’ll become a leading provider of corn seed in Brazil in the medium to long term,” notes Alexander Drotschmann, head of Business Unit Corn & Oilcrops Americas.
KWS in Brazil
KWS has operated in the Brazilian market since acquiring the Brazilian corn seed vendor Riber in 2012. Since then, KWS has grown its share in the corn seed market from around three percent to approximately seven percent and is currently ranked fifth. With cultivation area of around 15 million hectares, Brazil is the world’s third-largest market for corn after the U.S. and China (each with cultivation area of some 36 million hectares).
