Arcadia, Bioceres and TMG Partner to Develop New Soybean Variety

Arcadia Biosciences, Inc., Bioceres SA, and Tropical Melhoramento e Genética Ltda (TMG) have agreed to collaborate on the development of a new soybean variety built around the HB4 stress tolerant trait.

The HB4 trait, which enables a plant to achieve higher yields while adapting to multiple environmental stresses, was developed by Verdeca LLC, the joint venture between Bioceres and Arcadia, formed to advance soybean technology.

Verdeca’s HB4 trait has undergone six seasons of multi-location field trials in the U.S and Argentina, and two years of regulatory field trials, and is currently in Phase 4 of development. Through these trials it has been demonstrated that the HB4 trait leads to a 14% increase in yield under multiple stressful conditions including drought.

Globally, soybeans are grown on 110 million hectares, and 45% of the world’s supply is grown in Brazil and Argentina. The HB4 soybean is being developed by Verdeca in order to give farmers in these countries in particular the ability to increase their output to better meet rising global demand.

In April, Argentina granted regulatory approval to the HB4 trait, making it the first country to issue regulatory approval for the trait, and making it the first approval for an abiotic stress tolerance trait in soybeans in the world.