Herculex I and Roundup Ready Corn 2 receives Japanese approval

06/04/05 Grain corn containing the trait combination of Herculex I Insect Protection and Roundup Ready Corn 2 has received approval for import into Japan, a significant overseas market for North American corn. This includes food, feed and environmental approvals within the Japanese regulatory system.

Corn with these traits offers broad in-plant insect-protection, together with resistance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide. Herculex I protects the corn plant against European corn borer, southwestern corn borer, western bean cutworm, black cutworm and fall armyworm. The Roundup Ready trait allows growers to control weeds through a cost-efficient, broad-spectrum herbicide system, providing them enhanced flexibility in their crop protection program.

The Herculex I and Roundup Ready traits previously received individual approvals for import into Japan. The Japanese regulatory system requires that the stacked traits complete a separate regulatory review, even when the individual traits have been approved. Both traits also have been fully approved individually in the United States and Canada. The U.S. and Canadian regulatory systems do not require a separate approval for stacked insect- resistant and herbicide-resistant traits.

Herculex I is part of a family of traits being developed in a research collaboration between Dow AgroSciences, a world leader in pest control and a growing marketer of seed, and Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., a world leader in seed technology and seed products. Future products include Herculex RW for corn rootworm protection and Herculex XTRA, combining the insect protection offered by both Herculex I and Herculex RW.

The Herculex I trait also provides tolerance to Liberty herbicide which controls more than 100 grass and broadleaf weeds on contact, expanding the weed control options available to growers with this stacked trait.

While Dow AgroSciences and Pioneer pooled resources to research, develop and seek regulatory approval for the new technologies, they will independently market and sell products with the Herculex I trait on a competitive basis -- Dow AgroSciences through Mycogen Seeds and other licensed seed companies and Pioneer within its own brand.