BASF halting hybrid wheat seed development in North America
Results 'have not achieved development goals we set'
| 1 min read
By Karl Plume
(BASF.com)
Stammwerk der BASF Gruppe Ludwigshafen. Wassertank am Rheinufer in Ludwigshafen.Das Herz der BASF-Gruppe ist die BASF SE mit ihrem Stammwerk in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. Mit etwa 250 Produktionsbetrieben, vielen hundert Labors, Technika, Werkstätten und Büros ist es der größte zusammenhängende Chemiekomplex der Welt. Abdruck honorarfrei. Copyright by BASF. Headquarters of the BASF Group Ludwigshafen. Tank on the bank of the Rhine in Ludwigshafen. The heart of BASF Group is BASF SE headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany. With about 250 production plants, several hundred laboratories, technical centers, workshops and offices, it is the largest integrated chemical complex in the world. Print free of charge. Copyright by BASF.
Reuters — Global chemicals and crop seeds company BASF is halting development of hybrid wheat in North America after results of seed trials failed to reach development goals, the company told Reuters on Wednesday.
BASF will instead focus development of the new type of wheat in European markets, aiming to launch the technology there “toward the end of the decade,” the company said.
BASF said last month it would be cutting 2,600 jobs amid rising costs and weak earnings. Those job cuts included its North American hybrid wheat developers, BASF said.
Wheat breeders have been working for years to develop cross-bred wheat varieties to boost yields and make crops more resistant to drought or disease.
Tightening global grain supplies and soaring prices after Russia’s invasion of major wheat exporter Ukraine has focused further attention on the technology.
But the road to market has been slow because development is more costly and difficult, and companies saw lower potential for returns.
“The results of our North American trials have not achieved the development goals we set to meet the needs of growers in Canada and the United States,” BASF said in an emailed statement.
The company added that markets in Europe hold “the greatest opportunity to successfully bring this innovation to farmers.”
Chinese-owned seed maker Syngenta is an early leader in developing hybrid wheat, with a small number of U.S. fields due to plant it this year. BASF and rival Bayer also have varieties in development for launch later this decade.
— Karl Plume reports on agriculture and ag commodities for Reuters from Chicago.
