October 6, 2015
Syngenta continues transition of wheat breeding to hybrids in North America
Syngenta has announced additional actions in North America to transition its wheat breeding to the development of hybrid varieties.
The next step is that Northern Seed, LLC will acquire Syngenta''striticale programme including the Vernon, Texas, site. Triticale is a grain produced by cross-breeding wheat and rye, and is grown primarily as animal feed.
"This transaction will concentrate resources on our work to commercialise hybrid wheat," said Darcy Pawlik, cereal product lead for Syngenta in North America, "We are focusing our efforts in the primary wheat growing areas in North America, which will lead to enabling further expansion.
"Syngenta has built a leadership position in North America wheat seeds as part of a strategy to maximise grower return," Pawlik added. "Now, the company will continue focusing on variety development with an orderly transition into hybrids. Building on the success of Hyvido™ barley in Europe, Syngenta recently achieved technical proof of concept in hybrid wheatand expects to commercialise by the end of the decade, with peak sales potential of more than US$3 billion."
Syngenta will increase its investment and resources to develop hybrid wheat for major wheat market segments in North America. This will ensure transformational yield benefits to growers under the AgriPro® cereals seed brand, the North American leader in branded wheat.
"So far, our investments have enabled us to surpass a targeted 10% yield increase for our first generation of hybrid wheat lines," said Pawlik, "Although we still have a great deal to learn about how to optimise growth, agronomic characteristics, and grain yield, we are confident hybrid wheat will provide a new level of yield potential and profitability for growers and our channel."