This week, the release of the world's first transgenic wheat was announced in Argentina. The HB4 technology, developed by Bioceres, has received regulatory approval from the Argentine Ministry of Agriculture and is drought tolerant.
The research group of Dr. Raquel Chan, from Conicet (Universidad Nacional del Litoral), was responsible for the discovery, in partnership with the company. The HB4 wheat varieties are developed by Trigall Genetics, a joint venture between Bioceres and Florimond Desprez of France, one of the world's leading wheat genetics companies.
In addition to wheat, HB4 technology was also released by Argentine regulatory authorities for soybeans. This genetic modification has already been released in countries with the largest global production of the crop, including Argentina, the United States, Brazil and Paraguay. The commercialization of HB4 wheat in Argentina is subject to approval for import by Brazil – responsible for purchasing around 85% of the neighboring country's production.
Continues after form
{module 442}
According to the manufacturer, in production batches and field trials carried out over the last 10 years, HB4 wheat varieties have shown yield improvements of an average of 20 percent in drought situations. The incidence of this phenomenon has increased in frequency in the context of global climate change, increasingly affecting the stability of agricultural ecosystems.
Bioceres was founded in December 2001 in Rosario, Argentina, by agricultural producers and today has more than 300 shareholders, including agricultural producers, cooperatives, agro-industrial groups and other actors in the scientific and financial sector. It is the majority shareholder of Bioceres Crops Solutions Corp – the first Latin American agricultural biotechnology company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Source: agrolink
READ TOO:
{module 441}
