Positive results achieved in 1st field test of stacked herbicide-tolerance traits in camelina

Camelina

Yield10 Bioscience Inc. announced positive results this month in the first field test of stacked herbicide-tolerance traits in camelina.

These proprietary stacked herbicide-tolerant camelina varieties developed by Yield10 demonstrate tolerance to the application of an over-the-top herbicide for weed control as well as tolerance to Group 2 herbicide soil residues.

These results represent a key advancement for supporting grower adoption of stacked herbicide-tolerant camelina for the biofuel feedstock market by enabling weed control and increased access to acreage previously treated with Group 2 herbicides.

Yield10 is executing a program to develop and commercialize spring and winter camelina varieties with stacked herbicide traits to achieve large acreage adoption of the crop in North America.

In the second quarter of 2023, Yield10 researchers initiated the first field tests of candidate E3902 spring camelina lines deployed with stacked herbicide-tolerant traits intended to provide the plants with tolerance to the application of an over-the-top broadleaf herbicide for weed control as well as tolerance to soil residues of Group 2 herbicides, specifically including tolerance to both imidazolinones (IMI) and sulfonylureas (SU).

Preliminary results of these field tests indicate that these camelina lines demonstrate tolerance to both target herbicide chemistries.

By comparison, significant injury was observed to control E3902 camelina plants following application of an over-the-top herbicide and exposure to increasing concentrations of IMI or SU soil residues.

Group 2 herbicides are commonly used to manage weeds in cereal and other crop rotations and can persist in the soil for months following use.

Yield10 intends to harvest the plants and collect seed yield and oil-yield data in the weeks ahead with the goal of selecting lead and back-up stacked herbicide-tolerant spring E3902 camelina lines for commercial development and seed scale-up.

In addition to its program for spring camelina, Yield10 researchers have also developed candidate stacked herbicide-tolerant traits in a winter camelina variety, and the first field tests of these lines are planned for this fall.

In the second quarter of 2023, Yield10 filed a request for regulatory status review (RSR) with USDA-APHIS Biotechnology Regulatory Services for stacked herbicide-tolerant camelina under the SECURE Rule, and a response from the agency is pending.

“The positive field test results with our stacked herbicide-tolerant spring camelina underscore the significant progress we are making in the development of elite herbicide-tolerant camelina varieties,” said Kristi Snell, chief science officer of Yield10 Bioscience. “Based on these positive field-trial results, we remain firmly on track executing our program to develop and commercialize stacked herbicide-tolerant spring and winter camelina varieties. The combination of over-the-top broad-leaf weed control and tolerance to Group 2 soil residues is intended to provide significant differentiation of our elite camelina varieties from common types and enable growers to plant Yield10 elite camelina with confidence on a large-scale.”

Oliver Peoples, president and CEO of Yield10 Bioscience, added, “Yield10’s commercial vision for our camelina feedstock oil program is aligned well with the climate impact and sustainability needs of the biofuel market. Our proprietary herbicide-tolerant camelina varieties and stacked herbicide-tolerant varieties are designed to be an excellent fit for growers in cover cropping as well as a seamless fit into crop rotations with other major crops in the U.S. and Canada. Based on the positive field test results we have reported over the last year, we remain on track with our plan to launch our first commercial herbicide-tolerant camelina varieties in 2025 and following soon thereafter with stacked herbicide-tolerant camelina varieties.”

The SECURE Rule was published May 18, 2020, and represents the first comprehensive revision of APHIS’ biotechnology regulations since 1987.

The revisions enable APHIS to regulate organisms developed using genetic engineering for plant pest risk with greater precision and reduce the regulatory burden for developers of organisms that are unlikely to pose plant pest risks.

Once a specific plant developed through genetic engineering is found not to require regulation, new varieties of the plant containing the same genetic modification would similarly not be regulated.

Herbicides must be labeled for use on camelina plants containing herbicide-tolerance traits under U.S. EPA regulations.