First Stress Tolerant Soybean to Get Go-Ahead in Argentina

A genetically modified soybean is on its way to being the world's first soybean with a stress tolerance trait. Bioceres S.A., Arcadia Biosciences, Inc., and Tropical Melhoramento e Genética Ltda., have agreed to develop new soybean varieties based on the HB4 stress tolerance trait. HB4 enables plants to adapt to multiple environmental stresses and achieve higher yields. It was developed by Verdeca LLC, a joint venture between Bioceres and Arcadia.

The HB4 stress tolerance trait has undergone extensive field-testing in soybeans, including six seasons of multi-location field trials in Argentina and the United States, and two years of regulatory field trials. The results of these trials have shown that the HB4 trait provides up to 14 percent greater yield under multiple stress conditions, including drought.

In April of this year, Argentinian authorities granted regulatory approval to the HB4 stress tolerance trait in soybeans. It was the first approval for HB4 and the world's first regulatory approval of an abiotic stress tolerance trait in soybeans.

For more information, read the news release at the Arcadia Biosciences website.