DAVIS, Calif. and ROSARIO,
Argentina, March 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Verdeca, a
joint venture between Arcadia Biosciences Inc. (Nasdaq: RKDA)
and Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (NYSE American: BIOX), will be
showcasing pre-commercial soybean varieties carrying the drought
tolerant HB4® trait to more than 150,000 South American
growers at Expoagro 2020, being held March
10-13 in San Nicolas, Argentina. The HB4 soybean varieties deliver
two layers of value for growers: drought and herbicide
tolerance.
The HB4 stack is Verdeca's newest product release from its
pipeline of traits developed to benefit soybean producers through
quality improvement, stress mitigation and management
practices.
At Verdeca's pavilion, growers will be able to inspect field
plots of HB4 soybeans, a unique technology which protects crops
against drought conditions. More than ten years of field trials in
production regions of the northern and southern hemisphere have
demonstrated that HB4 soybeans preserve yield when crops are
challenged by water and salinity stress.
"HB4 is a novel soybean trait that provides yield stability
across diverse environments, delivering a biotech solution beyond
the traditional packages, primarily focused on pest control
traits," said Martin Mariani
Ventura, general manager of Verdeca. "This technology
provides farmers with an important tool to address challenges
associated with climate change."
In addition to drought tolerance, HB4 soybeans also offer
resistance to a broad-spectrum herbicide utilized to prevent growth
of a wide range of annual and perennial broadleaf weeds and
grasses. Field plots at Expoagro compare the effectiveness of the
trait-plus-herbicide combination, compared to soybean fields
artificially infested with volunteer corn and Amaranthus
grass weeds.
"We're excited to show farmers first-hand the benefits of our
HB4 trait stack at Expoagro," said Matt
Plavan, president and CEO of Arcadia Biosciences. "As the
only commercial soybean trait for drought tolerance, we believe HB4
has the potential to significantly improve the performance of
soybean cultivation globally."
Federico Trucco, chief executive
officer of Bioceres Crop Solutions stated, "This year's event marks
our advance beyond technology demonstration in a single material to
showcasing our breeding program and more specifically, the
pre-commercial varieties that are currently being multiplied in
close to 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres). Expoagro brings together an
invaluable audience which will help us further validate the
attractiveness of our value proposition to farmers and sign-up
early adopters for our next cycle of seed
multiplication."
The second recruiting round for the HB4 program candidates will
take place during the third day of the event, with potentially more
than 100,000 acres available for seed multiplication during the
next crop season.
Currently, the HB4 trait has regulatory approval in more than 80
percent of the global soybean market, including the U.S.,
Brazil, Argentina and, most recently, Paraguay. Regulatory submissions are currently
under consideration by China,
Canada, Bolivia and Uruguay. Import approval from China is needed for commercial launch in
Argentina. Expectation to obtain
such approval in late 2020 is under review in light of recent
developments in China.
About Verdeca
Verdeca, a U.S.-based joint venture
between Bioceres Crop Solutions and Arcadia Biosciences, was formed
in 2012 to deploy next-generation soybean traits in all key
production regions, beginning in South
America and North America. Working in partnership with
South American growers, Verdeca aims to provide technologies that
help increase crop productivity, making more efficient and
sustainable use of land and water resources. For more information
visit www.verdeca.com.
About Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.
Arcadia Biosciences
(Nasdaq: RKDA) is a leader in science-based approaches to enhancing
the quality and nutritional value of crops and food ingredients.
The company's GoodWheat™ branded ingredients deliver health
benefits to consumers and enable consumer packaged goods companies
to differentiate their brands in the marketplace. Arcadia's agricultural traits are being
developed to enable farmers around the world to be more productive
and minimize the impact of agriculture on the environment. The
company's new GoodHemp seed catalog delivers genetically superior
hemp seeds, clones, transplants, flower and extracts, applying the
company's proprietary crop innovation technology, ArcaTech, to an
emerging crop. For more information, visit
www.arcadiabio.com.
About Bioceres Crop Solutions
Bioceres Crop
Solutions Corp. (NYSE American: BIOX) is a fully integrated
provider of crop productivity technologies designed to enable the
transition of agriculture towards carbon neutrality. To do this,
Bioceres' solutions create economic incentives for farmers and
other stakeholders to adopt environmentally friendlier production
practices. The company has a unique biotech platform with
high-impact, patented technologies for seeds and microbial
ag-inputs, as well as next generation crop nutrition and protection
solutions. Through its HB4® program, the company is
bringing digital solutions to support growers' decisions and
provide end-to-end traceability for production outputs. For more
information, visit https://investors.biocerescrops.com.
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press
release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including
HB4's potential to significantly improve the performance of soybean
cultivation. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially,
and reported results should not be considered as an indication of
future performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are
not limited to: Arcadia's,
Bioceres', Verdeca's and their partners' and affiliates' ability to
develop commercial products incorporating their traits, and
complete the regulatory review process for such products, including
obtaining approval from China;
Arcadia's and Bioceres' compliance
with laws and regulations that impact Verdeca's business, and
changes to such laws and regulations; Verdeca's future capital
requirements and ability to satisfy its capital needs; and the
other risks set forth in Arcadia's
and Bioceres' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
from time to time, including the risks set forth in Arcadia's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2018,
Bioceres' Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended
June 30, 2019, and other filings.
These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof,
and Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. and Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp.
disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking
statements.
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SOURCE Verdeca; Arcadia Biosciences; Bioceres Crop Solutions
Corp.