Bayer offers Vietnamese farmers a revolutionary solution against Bacterial Leaf Blight disease

The new rice variety (TEJ Vang) provides high rice yielding potential and strong protection against the bacterial leaf blight (BLB), a dreaded rice farming disease that causes considerable yield loss for farmers especially in the wet season.

According to local statistics, BLB is rampaging across the country in both summer (wet) rice season and spring (dry) rice season.

Based on data from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), BLB could reduce rice yields by 30 per cent to 70 per cent depending on the stage of infection, environmental conditions and rice seasons.

There is no crop protection product that could cure this disease effectively in rice. In such a challenging scenario, for the very first time in Vietnam, Bayer is introducing TEJ Vang.

Harnessing new technology by integrating a combination of multiple BLB resistance genes, TEJ Vang stands out from currently marketed BLB tolerant hybrid rice varieties.

The combination of multi BLB-resistant genes gives TEJ Vang protection against the majority of BLB pathogen races prevalent in Vietnam.

“At Bayer we are committed to harnessing innovative science to help tackle challenges in agriculture. TEJ Vang is a revolutionary solution to help Vietnamese rice farmers combat BLB effectively as well as ensuring high and quality yield,” said Kohei Sakata, managing director and country head of the Crop Science Division, Bayer Vietnam.

Commenting on this innovative technique, Cao Thi Thanh Huyen, head of Haiphong City Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said, “Our country in general and Haiphong city in particular is annually facing an increasing potential of BLB disease occurrence. TEJ Vang could help shield farmers from the disease and protect farmers’ yields compared to the severe yield loss of other traditional inbred or even regular hybrid varieties. Our Department welcomes Bayer to continue to introduce other new hybrids resistant to salinity, sub-mergence that would benefit our farmers nationwide”.

TEJ Vang has obtained full national regulatory registration on April 15, 2016.

Since early 2013, advanced farmers in key rice producing provinces across Vietnam have participated in trials and witnessed the superior performance of TEJ Vang on their fields.

They will also be the first farmers to apply this revolutionary technology in Vietnam for this summer planting season.

Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed to benefit people and improve their quality of life. In fiscal 2015, the group employed around 117,000 people and had sales of EUR46.3 billion ($52 billion).