News on Crop Protection from Germany

It is not easy to be a potato farmer in Europe these days, and it may get even worse: To maintain the harvest, farmers need a sufficient number of highly efficient fungicides to cover a spray scheme for control of Late Blight (Phytophthora infestans).

Bosch BASF Smart Farming, the joint venture between Bosch and BASF Digital Farming to globally market and sell smart farming technology, announced its new brand name: ONE SMART SPRAY.

Due to the war in the Ukraine and persistent drought, the international potato industry is expecting another challenging year. Nevertheless, numerous players from all major potato-growing countries will meet at Potato Europe early September.

Europlant presents potato varieties with high nutrient efficiency. The high-yielding and high-quality special varieties for low input production protect the environment and save costs.

The World Potato Congress is very pleased to present its next webinar on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 with Albert Schirring, Strategy Lead Vegetables & Potato, Bayer AG.

Widespread fungal disease in plants can be controlled with a commercially available chemical that has been primarily used in medicine until now. This discovery was made by scientists from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the University of the State of Paraná in Brazil.

The German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) has approved the ethylene-based sprout suppressor Restrain as a safe crop protection product with immediate effect. The approval applies to the treatment of potatoes (for both domestic consumption and starch production), onions, garlic, shallots, propagating material, and tomatoes.

Some 20 specialist exhibitors will show practical solutions for organic potato cultivation at Potato Europe 2018 exhibition – Demonstrations of mechanical weed control to feature at the event this year

PotatoEurope 2018, one of the top events for the international potato industry, returns to Germany on September 12 and 13.

Bayer plans to complete the acquisition of Monsanto on June, 7, following the receipt of all required approvals from regulatory authorities.

Preparations for this year's PotatoEurope exhibition are progressing well, with planting now complete at the event venue, Rittergut Bockerode farm, near Hanover in Germany

As a result of the uncertainty regarding the reapproval of the active ingredient Diquat the potato industry made an effort to identify alternative solutions for haulm desiccation. Haulm killing with high-voltage electrical current showed the greatest chances of success.

Using sensors to determine the best time for harvesting and steering automated tractors across fields, the market for agricultural technology is growing worldwide. It is also a lucrative field for Bosch. 'Bosch can do more than cars and cordless screwdrivers. We are bringing high tech to farms, opening up a market worth billions.'

Bayer and Monsanto today announced that they signed a definitive merger agreement under which Bayer will acquire Monsanto for USD 128 per share in an all-cash transaction.

Bayer AG raised its offer to buy Monsanto Co. and create a new global leader in seeds and pesticides, though the German firm said the higher price depended on achieving a 'negotiated transaction.'

In response to further market speculation and stakeholder inquiries, Bayer is publicly disclosing the contents of its private proposal to acquire Monsanto.

Bayer AG is exploring a potential bid for U.S. competitor Monsanto Co. in a deal that would create the world’s largest supplier of seeds and farm chemicals, according to people familiar with the matter.

Colorado potato beetles are a dreaded pest of potatoes all over the world. Now, scientists from the Max Planck Institutes of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam-Golm and Chemical Ecology in Jena have shown that potato plants can be protected from herbivory using RNA interference (RNAi).