The BioAg Alliance, Monsanto’s and Novozymes’ collaboration to improve crop harvests through products containing naturally-occurring microbes, today announced results from its 2016 field trial program and shared an updated research pipeline. Yield increases among top microbial strains averaged over 3 bushels per acre for corn and over 2 bushels per acre for soy.

Among the pipeline highlights is the Corn BioYield 2 project, which builds upon the recently-launched Acceleron® B-300 SAT. Field trial results in 2016 showed Corn BioYield 2 project strains – combined with Acceleron B-300 SAT – increasing corn yields by up to an average of 5 bushels per acre over a base Acceleron seed treatment. A Corn BioYield 2 product is expected to launch in 2019. In earlier stages of development are other yield-increasing products for corn and soy, and a microbial product that can protect soy plants against nematodes. The Alliance also announced that it will start developing new products for wheat, the third crop in its pipeline.