Q&A with Monsanto CTO Robb Fraley

Robb Fraley, Monsanto chief technology officer, is excited about the future, but he's looking for new ways to explain new technology with non farmers.

Monsanto has been on a roll these days, as the St. Louis based firm integrates its recent acquisitions with existing seed and trait businesses.

The recent buying craze started with the purchase of Precision Plantation in May of 2012.  "It used to be seeds at planting would land on top of the field, others would land below where you wanted to plant them," Fraley, Monsanto's executive vice president and chief technology officer, said during a recent interview with Agriculture.com.  "Now, were talking about a planter precisely controlled by hydraulics, with picket fence stands occurring."

In 2013, Monsanto also expanded into biotechnology with a Novozymes collaboration, and extensive weather data with its acquisition of The Climate Corporation.

"We are seeing all these technologies starting to integrate together," he says.

Not all has gone smoothly however.  A simple Google search of Monsanto turns up groups like March Against Monsanto and Millions Against Monsanto.  Also, some weeds and corn rootworms are resisting the companies weed-resistant and insect-resistant technology.

The following is a Q&A between Fraley and Agriculture.com.

AG: What excites you?
RF: Microbials and biological.  We are in the early stages of how useful they will be, but we see applications for control of insects, weeds and viruses.

AG: Did weeds and insects that resist transgenic technology surprise Monsanto?
RF: From the day we launched Roundup Ready soybeans (in 1996), resistance was always on top of our minds as a possibility.  We are always testing the next generation product.  In the case of corn rootworm, the science moved quickly, and we were able to replace a single gene product with dual gene products with multiple modes of action.  We are expecting RNAi technology to come into the market by the end of the decade.  This will defer from the Bt technology now used in corn rootworm traits.

AG: What's the state of the U.S. regulatory system?
RF: It's getting more complicated.  We are seeing more delays.  The EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) that USDA requested dicamba (Monsanto) and 2,4-D tolerant soybeans (Dow AgroSciences) has added another two years onto the time these products can get to the market.  We are complying, but we didn't think it was necessary.  The last two products we launched in Brazil took just two years to get government approval.  We are able to launch Roundup Ready Xtend (dicamba-tolerant) soybeans in Argentina before we launch it here.

AG: Aren't there concerns, such as off-target movement, about these new weed control technologies?
RF: I understand there are concerns.  We and BASF are doing a lot of work in developing new formulations of dicamba.  Dow is doing the same thing with new formulations of 2,4-D.  These new formulations are incredible.  I remember as a kid spraying Banvel and seeing volatility and drift.  Newer formulations have dramatically decreased off-target movement.

AG: How is Monsanto working to ease concerns about genetically modified foods?
RF: We're making a bigger effort to talk with consumers - in schools, with moms, with people who like us and people who don't.  We need different approaches.

AG: What will you be talking about in five years?
RF: We will talk about how big of an enhancement Roundup Ready Xtend has made across soybean production.  It is a great new tool for weed control.  We will also be talking about adoption of probably the third or fourth generation of FieldScripts.  These will build upon products that select the right seed for the field and for planting at optimal populations.

Sugarcane Aphids Heading North

It's been 80 years since the Midwest has experienced a pest problem like it may experience this year.  The sugarcane aphid has mostly been in Texas along the gulf coast and Louisiana.  However, they appear to be heading north.

What does a sugarcane aphid do?  They can damage a plant in numerous ways.  They can thin out a sorghum plant until it reaches reproductive stage.  The aphid then chews on the panicles, resulting in decreased grain weight and a loss in yields.  Aphids also secrete honeydew which covers the mature plant causing a sticky and messy harvest.

Mike Brewer, field crops entomologist with Texas A&M AgriLife in Corpus Christi, says in an article by Agriculture.com damage from sugarcane aphids on sorghum plants topped $50 million in damages last year.  As they spread that damage will only get worse.

"I think it is a good expectation that severity would increase.  The worst case scenario is that up to 50% of fields could be infected.  Assume 50% yield loss, based on what we know from earlier aphid infestations, and we could have $400 million economic loss statewide," Brewer said at a meeting in Corpus Christi in January.

Sugarcane aphids reproduce in the spring.  They are able to breed two to seven days after birth, laying as many as 20 nymphs per cycle.

Brewer said, "Within 6 weeks of the first winged aphid landing on the plants, you will see sooty mold and honeydew.  The plant begins giving out.  On the positive end it takes a lot of aphids before the plant succumbs to aphids sucking fluid out of the plant."

In an interview with Kansas State University's Radio Network, J.P. Michaud, Extension entomologist at K-State, says sugarcane aphids are expected to be in Kansas and Nebraska this year.  "We can be fairly sure we will have some migrants arrive here at some time, but we don't know how well they will survive," he says.

Michaud encourages sorghum growers to pay extra attention to their crop this year.  "They are noticeable because they have very short, black tailpipes on a very pale nymph," he explains.  "They colonize first on the underside of the lower leaves, and move up the plant as the leaves die.  It's a very similar feeding pattern to greenbugs."

There are no insecticides labled for sugarcane aphids on sorghum plants.  However, some exceptions have been made in Louisiana and Texas in extreme conditions.  

Michaud says lady beetles could help suppress that aphid infestation but that may take a few years.  "It may be advisable to leave small areas of fields unsprayed in order to let first responders evolve into natural control," he points out.  

Sugarcane Aphid Causing Problems

Since the fall of 2013 farmers in South Texas and North Texas along the coast farmers have noticed a new pest moving in.  The pest has been identified as a sugarcane aphid variety, but the typical yellow sugarcane aphid common in southern states.

By last years harvest that aphid population had exploded and deposited large amounts of honeydew on the sorghum crop causing a nightmare for farmers.

IPM specialist warned the aphid may have survived the winter and come back much stronger in the spring.  Early reports are suggesting the population is currently growing at an alarming rate.

The best defense against any new pest is a coordinated scouting defense.  Dr. Mike Brewer, a Texas AgriLife entomologist, laid out a scouting strategy to growers in Corpus Christi during a meeting to discuss the problem.  South West Farm Press was in attendance and shot a video of it.  Click here for part 1 and here for part 2 of the video.

For more information on sugarcane ahphids, read this Sorghum University paper.