Syngenta Kft. prioritizes biological methods in plant protection.

Bence Korbuly added that in 2024, Syngenta will expand its range with a new biological weeding agent, biostimulator and nutrient supplement. The business manager stated that three programs, including the entire technology, were launched in the field of corn, corn and sunflower cultivation, and a new, precision soil sampling service was offered to the producers. Product manager Zoltán Papp reminded us that the use of fertilizers in the European Union must be reduced by 20 percent by 2030, which is why we must turn to biological nitrogen sources. The company’s new product uses a type of endophyte – bacteria that live inside plants – that help absorb nitrogen from the air. In the case of cereals and corn, the agent can achieve nitrogen compensation of 30-40 kilograms per hectare, and it also increases the average yield, he added. The innovation is also justified by the fact that 40-70 percent of fertilizers containing nitrogen are not used due to, among other things, leaching, denitrification and erosion, an additional advantage is that 20 times less amount of it should be used than the commonly used urea, he said. Development engineer Viktor Nagy presented a new biostimulator, which, with its calcium, potassium and phosphorus content, makes plants more resistant to stress – especially drought and heat – and enhances photosynthesis; they achieved a 5 percent yield increase in winter wheat and a 6-13 percent yield increase in sunflower.

The company is continuing the Six Tons program for sunflower producers and the Every Eye Matters program for corn growers

Dóra Ácsné Szekeres, the company’s product manager, explained that ten of the 51 producers who joined the former achieved a sunflower yield of over four tons per hectare, and several hybrid varieties produced results of over five tons. The best result, 6.4 tons, was achieved in Hosszúpályi on a seven-hectare farm. Kristóf Krupp, the company’s corn and ear crop campaign manager, reported that the company is expanding its portfolio with new hybrids; as he said, Syngenta increased its market share in the hybrid corn seed market by 1-1 percent year-on-year.

At the season opener, among others, the company was presented also its new precision soil sampling service

Péter Heicz, head of agricultural innovation, said that the technology creates a high-resolution map of the nutrient content and structure of the soil, and laboratory analyzes are carried out, so producers can accurately determine the state of the soil and the nutrient supply.

MTI