AgBiome and TMG team up to develop boll weevil-resistant cotton

AgBiome and TMG - Tropical Melhoramento e Genética, today announced a global research and development partnership. The objective is to discover and develop new modes of action to control the boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) through transgenics.

The partnership will unite AgBiome's successful Genesis platform with TMG's germplasm and Cotton Breeding Program to provide genetic solutions to farmers around the world. With the adoption of these future technologies, the number of insecticide applications to control the weevil can be reduced, impacting the environment much less and, in addition, it can significantly increase the profitability of the rural producer.

Brazil is one of the world's largest cotton producers and the second largest exporter of the fiber, with TMG present in 38% of cotton crops in the Brazilian cerrado in the 2019/20 harvest. In Brazil and adjacent markets, chemical control is today one of the main ways of managing the boll weevil in crops.

“In the United States, boll weevil eradication has been quite successful. Internationally and in countries like Brazil, the pest persists and is only controlled with multiple applications of chemical products. We are excited to begin our work with TMG and hope to discover new solutions that are as effective as those that exist today”, highlights Dan Tomso, Business Director at AgBiome.

For Francisco Soares, CEO of TMG, the partnership is promising. “The complementary resources and capabilities that TMG and AgBiome bring to this partnership will provide fundamental innovations for the future success of cotton producers”, he adds.

Tracy Raines, director of Innovation at AgBiome, points out that global partnerships are important to the company's mission to provide crop protection solutions to farmers around the world. “This collaboration leverages the strengths of both organizations to develop a solution to mitigate such a devastating problem for cotton producers.”

Alexandre Garcia, Research Manager at TMG, points out that the company has a long history of providing genetic solutions that, over the years, have contributed to the global demand for food and fiber in a sustainable way. “This new research initiative is perfectly aligned with our strategy and shows the commitment that both companies have in bringing the best alternatives to producers”, he defines.