New Bayer corn hybrid offers higher farm yield

MANILA, Philippines — Bayer CropScience Philippines Inc. is introducing a genetically-modified corn hybrid that can offer higher yields to farmers.

In a statement, Bayer said the new hybrid called Dekalb 8282S has shown reliable performance in both wet and dry seasons with strong resistance to a wide variety of pests.

The corn hybrid can yield an additional 1.7 metric tons (MT) per hectare and can bring Filipino farmers an estimated net income of as much as P70,000 per hectare.

“The corn market in the Philippines is continuously evolving. Year on year, farmer demands change, price fluctuations, drought or heavy rains contribute to farmers’ unstable production. This is why Bayer is launching Dekalb 8282S in the Philippines,” said Bayer Crop Science Grower Marketing head Erwin Vibal.

“We want farmers to have a stable, reliable product that they can count on despite difficult market and weather conditions and infestations – and Dekalb has a hybrid that provides that protection from risks and losses in corn production,”Vibal said.

Bayer said Dekalb 8282S achieves full maturity at 110 days and has a relatively high shelling recovery at 84 percent which is higher than the 72 percent of other hybrids.

The new corn hybrid is also capable of yielding up to 6.2 to 8 MT per hectare, which is an increase of 1.7 MT per hectare compared to the Philippines’ national corn average yield of 4.5 to 5 MT per hectare.

Given a conservative price of P15 per kilo at farm gate, Bayer said farmers can earn a gross revenue of P120,000. This is equivalent to P50,000 to P70,000 net income given cost of P50,000 and yield of eight MT per hectare.

“This is true to farmers who follow experts’ recommendations including their adaption to recommended agronomic practices such as the ideal planting population of 80,000 to 90,000 plants per hectare,” Bayer said.

Bayer likewise noted Dekalb 8282’s durability in either rainy or drought periods as evidenced by its stable high yield whether in drought-prone Isabela or the rain-rich farms in Pangasinan.

“Whether it’s dry season or wet season, farmers have 88 percent winning chance in using Dekalb 8282S—whether it’s corn after rice planting or corn after corn,” Vibal said.

Bayer said Dekalb 8282S also has strong resistance to the highly destructive Fall Army Worm (FAW) which has infested corn farms across the Philippines.

It is the only corn seed in the market that has full approval for FAW-resistance from the Fertilizer and Pest Authority.

“Fall Army Worm is very destructive because it is not selective. It does not only attack for one cycle. But it can attack two or three times over seasons,”Vibal said.

Aside from FAW, Bayer said the hybrid can also resist other highly destructive pests such as the Asiatic Corn Borer, Common Cutworm, and Earworm.

It cited results from field trials which showed that the corn variety has 46 percent less damaged kernels versus other varieties.

With the new hybrid, Bayer said this can help farmers increase their production and match the rising demand, given recent challenges in local corn production and high demand from the feeds industry.