SmartStax™ - Leading Through Technology

SmartStax™ combines the leading insect protection of HERCULEX^® Insect Protection and YieldGard™ to deliver multiple modes of action and provide sustainable insect protection and weed control. The combination of traits in SmartStax provides farmers with the most complete yield protection ever available in a single package.

Developed under a cross-licensing agreement between Dow AgroSciences and Monsanto, SmartStax comprises insect protection and herbicide tolerance genes, including Dow AgroSciences’ HERCULEX and Monsanto’s YieldGard protection.   

Multiple modes of action for both above and below ground pests will work together to improve insect protection and minimize the potential for insect resistance. “Combining premium traits from Dow AgroSciences and Monsanto results in a product with the broadest spectrum of pest control available in any trait corn product in the market today,” said Mike Culy, North American Traits and Product Development Leader at Dow AgroSciences. “This is the first product to contain multiple stacks for key pests, which will improve product durability and reduce the potential for development of insect resistance. These product characteristics should also lead to the benefit of reduced refuge acre requirements for growers.”

SmartStax is effective in protecting crops from major corn pests, including European and southwestern corn borer, northern and western corn rootworm, western bean cutworm, black cutworm, corn earworm, and fall armyworm.  SmartStax will also provide resistance to glyphosate and glufosinate herbicides.  Dow AgroSciences field research trials conducted in 2007-2008 confirmed SmartStax provides a broader spectrum of insect protection in corn hybrids when compared to currently available insect protection traits.

SmartStax is on track to become commercially available in the U.S. for the 2010 growing season and will be offered by Dow AgroSciences through its seed affiliates, Mycogen Seeds, Dairyland Seed Co., Renze Seeds, Brodbeck Seed and Triumph Seed. SmartStax is pending EPA registration, and regulatory packages have been submitted for review in a number of key corn producing countries including the United States and Japan.

The development of SmartStax marks another major step as Dow AgroSciences leads through technology. The game-changing technology of SmartStax provides farmers with the most effective means of ensuring crop durability against corn pests, truly revolutionizing the future of agriculture.

Roots of SmartStax corn plant (left) versus conventional corn hybrid (right) demonstrating superior insect protection