(Photo: Based at Chacabuco City, Don Mario led the development of soybean genetic with 50% of share)
Buenos Aires, January 4th. According to the survey made by RIA Consultores over the database of the Seed National Institute (INASE), 42 new soybean varieties were registered during 2018. This is the largest quantity since the Cambiemos Alliance rose to the Government in December 2015. Effectively, in 2017 only 21 new varieties were registered and 28 in 2016, far to the historical record of 60 varieties in 2013, when Intacta technology was released in the domestic market.
Once again, Asociados Don Mario was the largest breeder accounting, for 21 varieties, or 50% of the total. The company led by agricultural engineer Gerardo Bartolomé registered 10 non-GMO varieties, focused into developing a non-transgenic channel market.
Nidera Seeds, Sursem and Criadero Santa Rosa occupied the second place with 4 new varieties each one. Santa Rosa is a cooperative-based breeding company that also operates in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia. Sursem, a private company based at Pergamino City, was recently acquired by French company Limagrain and Nidera Seeds was bought by Syngenta (ChemChina) to COFCO in 2017.
Look at the complete list of soybean breeders in 2018.
According to the RIA Consultores survey, the original Roundup Ready trait (current off-patent) was the most common in the new varieties, accounting for 22 of them. The RR second generation stacked with insect resistance (Intacta technology) was present in other 10 new varieties. All the 42 new varieties were developed in Argentina.
