BASF, Monsanto Team Up

Posted by Matt Hopkins|May 1, 2009

Germany’s BASF Corp. and U.S.-based Monsanto Co. have announced a joint licensing agreement through which they plan to accelerate the development of the next generation of dicamba-based herbicides.

The research and development divisions of both companies will work to develop new or improved dicamba formulations for use with Roundup- and dicamba-resistant crops.

BASF is currently the largest provider of dicamba and dicamba-based solutions. Monsanto is working to develop dicamba-resistant soybean and cotton products to combine with its current Roundup Ready products. Sean Gardner, Monsanto’s Global Chemistry lead, says: “Combining a second type of herbicide resistance with Roundup Ready technology would offer growers multiple tools for weed control though the use of Roundup, dicamba, or combinations of both herbicides.”