Bayer soybean growers will not be short of options for 2018. The 2018 lineup includes 15 new Credenz varieties that include LibertyLink traits and feature Bayer smart genetics, as well as six new Balance GT varieties that have been developed for maturity groups 2.1 to 4.1.
“With increased weed resistance in the Midwest, a lot of growers are switching their acres to the LibertyLink technology which has been around for a few years,” said Brett Naylor, soybean variety development manager, Bayer. “Another technology that growers are very interested in is the new Balance GT technology that will be available next year hopefully pending herbicide approval.”
Upon approval, the Balance GT system will give growers the flexibility to use Balance Bean herbicide for burndown or pre-emergence applications.
For the growers that have tested out some of the new products, the feedback has been only positive, said Naylor.
“The growers that have tested it out and have been using the LibertyLink system for several years are very complementary and are recommending it to other growers as well,” Naylor said. “We have gotten a lot of momentum the last few years and we hope to continue that moving forward.”
A relatively new brand in the marketplace, Credenz has moved into ninth place in terms of size within soybean companies in the U.S., Naylor said.
And part of that momentum has stemmed from variety performance.
“We sell soybeans all the way from the Dakotas to the Northeast, all the way through the Midwest and Southern U.S. geographies,” Naylor said. “We believe we have products that can fit any type of acre and any type of scenario and growers have been experiencing that, and so we have had a tremendous amount of success and growth over the last few years.”
“We plant about 2,000 acres of beans a year; we switched from glyphosate to Liberty this year, and, when we made the switch to Liberty, we went with the Credenz beans from Bayer. We went with the whole Bayer program – all the way from seed treatment with ILeVO to Liberty,” said Iowa grower D.W. Lain. “Our yields went from 60 to 70 bushels per acre into the 80s. In 37 years of farming I haven’t seen that kind of yield increase before.”
Here is a full list of the 15 new Credenz varieties for the 2018 season:
- CZ 0448LL: Good IDC tolerance, excellent standability and highest yielding early 0 in 2016.
- CZ 1028LL: Good SCN tolerance with PI88788 background, solid agronomic package with good standability and stable performer across a wide geography. Highest yielding early MG1.
- CZ 1418LL: Excellent top-end yield potential mid MG1, 85 percent win rate versus competitive
checks and medium-tall plant type that forms an excellent canopy. - CZ 1738LL: Strong early vigor and all-around disease package. Consistent yielding late MG1 across all environments.
- CZ 2408LL: Top performer in 2016 trials and was the highest yielding mid MG2. Medium-tall, bushy plant type that works well across varied soil types from East to West.
- CZ 2928LL: Taller plant type with good standability and was the high-performing yielders late MG2 in 2016.
- CZ 3118LL: Consistent, uniform performer across multiple geographies with good disease tolerance. Highest yielding early MG3.
- CZ 3548LL: Bushy, dark brown bean that forms an excellent canopy. Mid MG3 with consistent yields from East to West.
- CZ 3738LL: Consistent yielding late MG3, that moves North well with good standability and disease tolerance.
- CZ 4308LL: Early MG4 with a taller, rugged plant type and top-end yield potential. Moves well North to South.
- CZ 4548LL: Mid MG4 STS option. Solid performer across many geographies.
- CZ 4918LL: Consistent-yielding, late MG4, with good standability and strong defensive package.
- CZ 4938LL: High yielding late MG4 with a taller, aggressive plant type that performs across many
environments. Performs best at 140K or less plant populations. - CZ5328LL: New attractive tawny tan early MG5. Excellent stem canker and frogeye resistance.
- CZ7008LL: Excellent yield performance, attractive tawny/tan. Highest yielding early MG7.
