Posts Tagged: "farming"

Monsanto patent acquisition slows, focus remains on disease-resistant crops

Monsanto’s 2005 acquisition of vegetable and fruit seed producer Seminis, Inc., continues to pay dividends for the corporation as readers can see in a couple of patents which have recently issued from the USPTO. U.S. Patent No. 9125354, which is titled Squash Hybrid LEBEHH9044 and Parents Thereof, claims a squash plant and seed having a first set of chromosomes of squash line ZGN-EH-09-7554. The squash plant protected here exhibits desirable traits for commercial squash production and is well suited for the development of new lines based the elite nature of the plant’s genetic background. Another invention which was initially filed by elite lettuceSeminis can be seen within U.S. Patent No. 9072271, titled Agronomically Elite Lettuce with Quantitative Bremia lactuca Resistance. This patent protects a lettuce seed containing an allele conferring resistance to Bremia lactucae and lacking a second allele conferring resistance to Lactuca saligna and conferring traits in adventitious shoots, bubbled leaves and reduced plant diameter. This innovation is intended to produce lettuce with a natural resistance to downy mildew without conferring some undesirable agronomic traits which are genetically linked to the resistance traits.

Steve Brachmann

October 13, 2015

Pest control applications among the many recent chemical innovations from BASF

BASF is a very active acquirer of patents at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, placing 56th among all organizations worldwide with 752 U.S. patents received in 2014, a nearly 8 percent increase over its 2013 totals. The third quarter of 2015 saw BASF earn 183 U.S. patent grants from the USPTO, which represents a slightly lower pace of innovation than it enjoyed last year. One of the divisions within this German chemical corporation, which is dedicated to addressing the problem of insect pests, is BASF Pest Control Solutions. BASF produces such pesticides as Termidor termite defender and Alpine broad spectrum insecticide. Although the corporation is pulling back its investment in some areas, it recently opened a new facility in England to increase production of biochemical products designed for integrated pest management programs meant for agriculture and horticulture applications. BASF’s partnership with the University of Gottingen has lately yielded a new insecticide composition which has shown effectiveness against aphids, whiteflies and other sucking pests. Pesticides like this are just one part of an agrochemical market which some have predicted will eclipse $250 billion by the year 2020.

Steve Brachmann

October 12, 2015

The future of agricultural pest control is biopesticides, IoT insect monitoring systems

The Internet of Things has been lauded as a potential boon for crop production, including pest control. Automated IoT pest control systems have been developed by Spensa of West Lafayette, IN. Its Z-Trap unit is specifically designed for apple orchards to detect the levels of codling moths, one of the more common North American pests for apple trees. Z-Traps can be monitored remotely from a computer, Android or iPhone. This technology is also being developed to detect for Oriental fruit flies and obliquebanded leafrollers. Pest monitoring systems like this enable farmers to more effectively apply pesticides and hopefully reduce the amount of pesticide used on plants.

Steve Brachmann

October 8, 2015

Western U.S. drought sparks innovation in irrigation management, desalination

A push for innovation to solve the water crisis has been kickstarted this summer in some part due to an executive order from California Governor Jerry Brown that initiated a drought technology program intended to accelerate the development of innovative water and energy saving technologies.

Steve Brachmann

September 27, 2015