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 84STRATEGY A featured segment designed to share business- critical information to seed-selling professionals. Visit SeedWorld.com to download this department and other tools. Treating Abiotic Stressors Novel seed treatments hold great promise in reducing plant stress from abiotic events, such as drought and frost. Julie Deering DID YOU KNOW that the human population lives on less than 20 plant species? These 20 species generally provide the world’s staple sustenance. Three of those species provide 60 percent of that sustenance — wheat, rice and corn. Each of these spe- cies has a limited geographic region in which they can be optimally produced. So an extreme weather event in one location can have profound impacts on food security around the world, explains Rusty Rodriquez a microbiologist and CEO of Adaptive Symbiotic Technologies. But with near perfect growing conditions, some might argue that farmers in the Midwest don’t need to worry about abiotic stressors as much as those in other parts of the world. Although growers in the Midwest are lucky to have above-average soils, they should be concerned about abiotic stressors, says Gregory Ginisty, Bayer product manager for North America. Drought, heat, cool wet springs are all things that growers in the Midwest know about and have stories on how it affected their crops. BASF’s Mike Hofer, direc- tor of Seed Solutions for Functional Crop Care, agrees that abiotic stressors can play a big part when it comes to yield. Farmers often plant into soils that are too wet, too dry or have high salinity, he says. One abiotic stressor that might not immediately come to mind, Hofer says is nutri- ent availability. “We know that most soils in the Midwest are full of nutrients, but those nutri- ents aren’t always available in a form that plants can use. Ginisty says that soils across the Midwest have varying levels of available nutrients due to a variety of factors (tillage, crop rotation, soil type), which also play a role in abiotic stress. Plants are most suscep- tible to stressors early in the season, when they are trying to get established. Stressors such as temperature and water availability can affect the germination capability of the seed and the plant’s vigor. Ginisty uses corn as an example. Most of its yield potential is determined in the first four to six weeks, he says. If the plant is stressed during that time, it will affect development throughout the entire growing season, and ultimately, its yield potential. Like pests and disease, these stress factors have been part of many companies’ research and development targets, says Ginisty, noting that the increased invest- ments in this area coincide with the recent use of biologi- cal products, which play an important role. “The evolution of technol- ogy, with applications in prod- uct formulation and studying modes of action, has also contributed to develop this space,” he says. “For example, molecular tools enable us to explore the plant’s response to abiotic stress.” SUPPORTED BY 44 / SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2016 Gregory Ginisty, Bayer product manager for North America Mike Hofer, BASF director of Seed Solutions