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Bayer launches Arize® 6444 Gold, a revolutionary rice hybrid
* A new generation rice hybrid Arize® 6444 Gold offers dual advantage – offering both
of high yield potential and protection from Bacterial Leaf Blight (BLB)
Raipur, May 2011: Bayer BioScience, a business unit of Bayer CropScience group has launched
a revolutionary rice hybrid - Arize®6444 Gold. The commercial rice hybrid, first-
of-its-kind in India, offers a holistic solution to rice farmers by assuring a high
yield advantage and offering protection from BLB, a dreaded rice disease causing
considerable yield loss (20-60%) annually especially in Kharif (wet season). Arize®
6444 Gold rice hybrid was formally launched at a colourful event organised in Raipur
on Friday.
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Speaking on the occasion Joerg Rehbein, Country Head, India and Head of Bayer
CropScience, South Asia said, “Arize®6444, our star hybrid now comes in a whole
new form as Arize®6444 Gold. It is a major breakthrough. In India, BLB affects 6-
7 million hectares annually causing huge yield losses. The disease can afflict the rice
plant in any of its growing stages and cause visible wilting of seedlings, yellowing and
drying of leaves leading to 20-60% loss in yield depending on disease severity and
crop stage at the time of infection. Arize®6444 Gold is a major breakthrough and has
the capability of ensuring high yields and effectively combating BLB.. Arize®6444
Gold will add value to Indian agriculture.”
The disease BLB, caused by a bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae pathovar oryzae is
estimated to cause an annual economic loss of about 6 Mio MT of rice paddy in India.
The situation is further challenging for farmers as no effective chemical treatment for
this disease is currently available.
A slightly aromatic hybrid Arize® 6444 Gold with medium slender grains and 130-
140 day duration offers 20-30% yield advantage over commercial open-pollinated
varieties. In case of BLB attack, the yield advantage provided by Arize® 6444 Gold
goes up significantly compared to other traditional inbred or hybrid varieties.
“Increasing rice yields is the principal challenge in India, today,” added Frederic
Arboucalot, Global head of Rice, seeds and traits, Head of Bioscience, Ag crops
Asia Pacific said. “India is world’s No.1 in rice area - 44 million hectares and the
second largest rice producer – 128 million tonnes but the country ranks 16th in terms
of productivity. “Hybrid rice seed enables farmers to achieve significant yield
improvements over open-pollinated or ‘inbred’ varieties. The breeding strategy for
Arize® 6444 Gold was to stack carefully selected genes conferring resistance to the
disease in elite rice germplasm through an integrated approach of “conventional”
breeding, plant pathology methodologies and molecular marker technology,” he added.
Bayer BioScience, a business unit of Bayer CropScience is one of the leaders in
development of rice hybrids in the country. Rice hybrids of Bayer have been setting
new trends in rice crop production & are now market leaders. The seven hybrids
marketed under the Arize® brand, namely 6444, 6129, 6201, Arize® Tej, Arize®
Swift, Arize® Prima and Arize® Dhani meet consumer preferences for short and long
grains and aromatic and non-aromatic rice, offer excellent taste, cooking quality and
are adapted to specific local growing conditions . They are consistently offering more
than 20 percent yield advantage above the best performing varieties.
ABOUT BAYER CROPSCIENCE:
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care,
nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, a subgroup of Bayer AG
with annual sales of EUR 6.830 billion (2010), is one of the world’s leading
innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural
pest control, seeds and traits. The company offers an outstanding range of products
and extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture and for non-
agricultural applications. Bayer CropScience has a global workforce of 20,700 and
is represented in more than 120 countries. This and further news is available at:
http://www.press.bayercropscience.com
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Contact for Bayer CropScience:
UVL Ananda, Corporate Communications & Media Relations
Uvl.ananda@bayercropscience.com
+ 91 9866102075
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