Yield10 provides update on advancements in development of elite herbicide-tolerant camelina

Camelina

Yield10 Bioscience Inc. announced Oct. 11 recent advancements toward enabling weed control for camelina cultivation and supporting grower adoption of the crop for production of low carbon-intensity feedstock oil for the biofuel market.

Control of broadleaf weeds is essential for the rapid adoption and success of commercial crops in North America.

Yield10 said it is establishing a leadership position in the development of herbicide-tolerant camelina to drive broad acceptance of the crop by growers.

The company is developing camelina with tolerance to a broad-leaf herbicide, which has been used safely in commercial crop production for over 25 years.

In addition, Yield10 is developing an herbicide package for camelina, incorporating tolerance to over-the-top application of broadleaf herbicide as well as tolerance to soil residual Group 2 herbicides, which are commonly used to control weeds in cereal crops.

“The Yield10 team is making significant progress toward our goal of launching elite herbicide-tolerant camelina for producing feedstock oil for the biofuels market,” said Kristi Snell, chief science officer of Yield10 Bioscience. “We aim to facilitate the seamless integration of camelina with current weed-control and crop-rotation practices of major crops in order to enable the planting of camelina on large-scale acreage. This winter, we anticipate that our program will achieve another important milestone as we conduct field tests of stacked herbicide-tolerant winter camelina for the first time. We will also continue to execute on seed scale up and regulatory activities in support of the planned commercial launch of our elite herbicide-tolerant and stacked herbicide-tolerant camelina varieties.”

Development of commercial-quality herbicide-tolerant camelina

Broad-spectrum herbicides have been used to protect seed yield by controlling broadleaf weeds.

Yield10 has demonstrated tolerance to over-the-top spray application of a commonly used broad-leaf herbicide in its E3902 herbicide-tolerant camelina in three cycles of field testing.

Additional field-test data is being collected and grain and protein meal samples analyzed to support the use of herbicide-tolerant camelina meal in livestock feed.

Throughout 2023, Yield10 has conducted seed scale-up activities that will continue in the contra season in Chile.

Yield10 is building seed inventory for a planned commercial launch of herbicide-tolerant spring camelina as early as 2025.

Last year, Yield10 filed a request for regulatory-status review (RSR) with USDA-APHIS Biotechnology Regulatory Services for Yield10’s broadleaf herbicide-tolerant camelina under the Sustainable, Ecological, Consistent, Uniform, Responsible, Efficient Rule. A response from the agency is pending.

Earlier this year, one of the manufacturers of the herbicide submitted a label amendment to U.S. EPA to allow use of their broadleaf herbicide on camelina.

Development of commercial-quality stacked herbicide-tolerant camelina

Yield10 is developing elite camelina varieties with a robust weed-control package based on tolerance to a broad-leaf herbicide application as well as to soil residues of Group 2 herbicides—imidazolinones (IMI) and sulfonylurea (SU).

Yield10 recently announced it demonstrated tolerance to over-the-top spray application of the commonly used broad-leaf herbicide as well as tolerance to Group 2 herbicide in its spring E3902 stacked herbicide-tolerant camelina.

Yield10 plans to conduct seed scale-up activities in contra season in Chile for this variety.

Company researchers have developed candidate stacked herbicide-tolerant winter camelina.

Yield10 is testing stacked herbicide-tolerant winter camelina in field tests for the first time this winter.

Earlier this year, Yield10 filed an RSR with USDA-APHIS for Yield10’s stacked herbicide-tolerant camelina under the SECURE Rule. A response from the agency is pending.

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 reduced 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.

Camelina plants containing herbicide-resistance traits are subject to labeling under EPA regulations.