Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116 Page 117 Page 118 Page 119 Page 120 Page 121 Page 122 Page 123 Page 124 Page 125 Page 126 Page 127 Page 128 Page 129 Page 130 Page 131 Page 132 Page 133 Page 134 Page 135 Page 136 Page 137 Page 138 Page 139 Page 140 Page 141 Page 142 Page 143 Page 144 Page 145 Page 146 Page 147 Page 14840 / SEEDWORLD.COM DECEMBER 2016 SUPPORTED BY ENDORSED BY insecticides, and/or biostimu- lants to provide for optimum seedling protection,” Kuehl explains. Alternative Developments A part of these new develop- ments that will help lead the next agricultural revolution is advancements made in the biologicals sector. Lamar Buckelew, FMC Agricultural Solutions product development manager, says getting a crop off to its strongest start is essential in crop production, and in- furrow technologies remain one of the most talked about topics to achieve that goal. “Traditional chemistries and delivery systems are valuable tools in the pro- cess, but the new frontier in at-plant technologies is the development of biological products,” Buckelew says. “Biologicals offer alternative modes and mechanisms of action to protect plants from pests and pathogens as well as boost outputs.” From venture capitalists to the largest crop protection companies, investment in this arena is increasing rapidly to discover and define the vast benefits that biological ingre- dients bring to this market. Biological development programs are producing a wide range of commercial products, including biostimu- lants, biofungicides, bioinsec- ticides and bionematicides. All of these products contain living organisms. Buckelew says a com- monly used biological, either through direct application or contained within transgenic plants, is Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which forms crystals in the mid-gut of insects after ingestion causing their death. Other bacterial strains might colonize around devel- oping roots, creating a biofilm that protects the plant from pathogens. He says these growing colonies last longer than seed treatments to provide protection while the plant is growing. Ethos XB Insecticide/ Fungicide, introduced by FMC in 2016, combines a syn- thetic insecticide with a bio- logical fungicide. It produces trillions of spores of living bacteria per acre that germi- nate when they get in the soil. These spores colonize around the developing roots, creat- ing a biofilm that protects the roots from plant pathogens trying to attack them. Buckelew says that other biologicals work less directly. Some soil amendments, for example, enhance root systems, leading to better nutrient and water uptake or by solubilizing nutrients like phosphorus, making them more available for plant uptake. FMC entered the soil amendment market this year with an in-furrow product called VGR Soil Amendment. Its microbes solubilize phosphorus and make more nutrients available for the roots. The microbes also work to improve water uptake, resulting in a faster growing and healthier plant. VGR Soil Amendment tank mixed with Capture LFR Insecticide showed a 9.1 bushel per acre yield advan- tage over untreated fields, and a 3.9 bushel advantage over Capture LFR Insecticide alone. According to Buckelew, FMC is on the leading edge of a potential crop protection paradigm shift away from mostly synthetic chemistries and toward biological prod- ucts. “Decreased synthetic chemistry development with increased research and devel- opment in biologicals will drive this shift, and it is excit- ing to be part of this leading- edge change and seeing where it goes,” he says. Ultimately, biologicals offer a promise of pest management through living organisms in a way some consider more sustainable in the long term than some of the current options available to growers. Buckelew says what is most interesting is how the influx of spending in this area will undoubtedly have beneficial side effects in areas we might not expect. “Likely there will be advances in microbial selection mark- ers that will allow for faster development of agriculturally active biological strains, he says. SW “Likely there will be advances in microbial selection markers that will allow for faster development of agriculturally active biological strains.” — Lamar Buckelew LEARNMORE On Jan. 19, Seed World will host a webinar that digs into the furrow to explore what new and innovative products companies are working with and how farmers should use them. You’ll have the chance to ask questions and hear firsthand from companies working on new novel production in this area. The webinar will be held at 1 p.m. Eastern. There is no cost to register, and registration can be done online at SeedWorld.com/webinar.