BAYER AG and KWS SAAT SE have granted MariboHilleshög a long-term license for their innovative weed control system CONVISO® SMART. With this agreement another top global sugarbeet breeder will bring the CONVISO® SMART technology to farmers worldwide.
CONVISO® SMART offers an efficient and sustainable way to control weeds in sugarbeet cultivation: classically bred sugarbeet varieties that are tolerant to a modern herbicide. In addition to the system's broad spectrum weed control, the amount of herbicide used can be significantly reduced compared to current standards.
"We are very pleased about the agreement with Bayer and KWS. We are now working full speed to incorporate this technology into our strong genetic material and are eager to present, once ready, CONVISO® SMART varieties to our customers, as we see great potential and benefits stemming from this innovative system," says Niels U. Mikkelsen, CEO of MariboHilleshög.
Sabine Stolz, Global Segment Manager at the Crop Science division of Bayer, added: "With MariboHilleshög we have found another strong and competent partner with many years of experience in sugarbeet breeding. Together we will achieve our goal of making the benefits of the CONVISO® SMART system available to many farmers worldwide."
After the successful 2018 launch in six markets - Sweden, Lithuania, Croatia, Serbia, Moldova and Ukraine - for the spring of 2019 KWS and Bayer plan to extend the launch of CONVISO® SMART to several additional markets such as Belarus, Chile, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Poland, The Netherlands, Turkey and Switzerland.
Dr. Peter Hofmann, member of the Executive Board of KWS, emphasizes that in view of the current regulatory pressure on crop protection products, innovations such as CONVISO® SMART are vital to secure the long-term competitiveness of the crop. "KWS faces the challenges of the future with the help of breeding," says Hofmann. "Innovative technologies such as CONVISO® SMART are key and will make an important contribution to keep sugarbeet cultivation profitable and fit for the future."
