Crop Science Publications
Transparency is the prerequisite to strengthen trust and a top priority for Bayer Crop Science.
This page is dedicated to centralizing published resources by providing easy access to Bayer reports and other publications our Crop Science division has published or contributed to.
Results and Progress Reviewed by External Experts
We’re using two leading externally developed scientific models (PestLCI and USEtox®) — and we’re making how we use them public.
Independent third-parties are invited to verify our work.
An external panel of experts is independently performing an assessment of how Bayer, along with the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), applies the PestLCI and USEtox® models to assess crop protection environmental impact. The assessment will also review how Bayer measures performance against the environmental impact reduction target along with additional methodological considerations.
To ensure that the external panel can perform a full assessment of Bayer’s approach, the panel members have received access to confidential information which (for legal reasons) Bayer cannot disclose publicly. This enables the panel to verify the impact assessment methodology, understand how Bayer intends to reduce its crop protection environmental impact against the baseline and even which parts of Bayer’s portfolio the mitigation efforts need to be focused on.
This section is going to be the future home of the reports which have been reviewed by the expert panel. In a first step Bayer intends to publish a methodological report containing information on the strategic intent and why Bayer’s decided to communicate the CP EIR target, the selection of the PestLCI and USEtox® models, how those models have been applied by the DTU to a global crop protection application data set to generate a global crop protection environmental impact assessment, a description of the baseline and how Bayer identified its focus areas to deliver against the target.
The methodological report contains information on:
- The strategic intent and why Bayer’s decided to communicate the CP EIR target,
- the selection of the PestLCI and USEtox® models, how those models have been applied by the DTU to a global crop protection application data set to generate a global crop protection environmental impact assessment,
- a description of the baseline and
- how Bayer identified its focus areas to deliver against the target.
The Crop Science Sustainability Progress Report supplements the Bayer Impact Report and provides a closer look at the many ways the Crop Science division is advancing sustainable agriculture and creating the best possible outcomes for farmers, consumers and our planet.
As a supplement to the Annual Impact Report, this progress report shares additional key information with our ESG Stakeholders. Our intention is to highlight the areas that our division is focusing on to improve our operations and create sustainable solutions in agriculture. It is our hope that readers will explore the links to other resources where they can learn more about many of the topics covered, engage with us directly, and ultimately help hold us accountable as we continue to make progress toward our 2030 commitments - and more importantly, our mission of Health for all, Hunger for none.
The community, nation, world needs farmers to survive.
That’s the bottom line. Their work and the harvests they produce are foundational to the global economy. Without farmers, there would be no food. So as society, shouldn’t we be listening to what they have to say?
At Bayer, we believe that’s central to our purpose. When we take time to listen and understand the diverse range of farmer needs and perspectives, we can harness our resources to best effect and deliver innovation to meet those needs.
So every day, we set out to listen and learn from farmers around the globe.
We acknowledge the lack of exchange with critical voices, especially in the early phase of the introduction of GMO Technology. We intend to change this.
Transparency and Reporting is the Way Forward
When agricultural GMOs were launched commercially, there was no blueprint for bringing such a disruptive food technology to market. Based on market realities at the time, Monsanto, which was acquired by Bayer in 2018, focused on marketing GM crops to farmers and engaging primarily with agriculture organizations.
The intent of this report is to provide information about the role and benefits of GMOs in sustainable agriculture and the global food system and to shed light on our efforts towards minimizing impact on the environment.
Smallholder farmers hold incredible potential on our journey towards global food security when they can access the modern agricultural solutions they need to increase their productivity, better their livelihoods and work more sustainably. That’s why we’re working directly with smallholder farmers around the world to make a massive impact, together.
Toward innovative, sustainable solutions that meet agriculture's challenges and societal expectations: Bayer's approach for the development and use of crop protection products.
Ensuring Safety and Integrity from Invention to Discontinuation
As a leader in agriculture, we have an obligation to oversee the entire life cycle of our products to ensure they are produced, distributed, and used responsibly.
Product Stewardship sees that our products, services, and best practices not only meet all legal and regulatory requirements, but also our high internal standards.
By maintaining the availability and integrity of our Crop Science products (seed and traits, crop protection products, and services), Product Stewardship helps to facilitate trade, maximize product potential, promote sustainability, and minimize risks to human and animal health, as well as protecting the environment. We strive for sustainable management of our products and services and do this by upholding multiple voluntary commitments in addition to complying with all legal and regulatory requirements.
For crop protection products, we have committed to the voluntary standard by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO): the International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management (2014).
Find out more about how we fulfill our commitment in our here.
Water Quantification Methodology Reviewed by External Experts
At Bayer, we support our smallholder customers to increase water productivity1 by 25% in 2030 against a 2019-2021 average baseline2 by transforming rice cropping in the relevant geographies where Bayer operates, starting in India3.
Bayer aims to demonstrate its method for measuring progress against its water productivity target and ensure it is following a reasonable and adequate approach.
This page is home to the methodology report and future iterations which have gone through two cycles of rigorous expert panel reviews. The reviewed report can be found below, containing information on the strategic intent behind Bayer’s water target and a description of the overall methodology.
The main objective of this report is to transparently document the setting of the water target as well as the process used to develop its scope and boundaries. The document details the water quantification methodology including baseline and tracking approach to ensure measurement of progress against the target on field level.
1 Water productivity is defined as kg of crop yield per volume of water used (Kg/m3)
2 Baseline validation still ongoing
3 Our water target is currently focusing on “DirectAcres Initiative” which aims at supporting farmers shift successfully from transplanted puddled rice to mechanized direct seeded rice.
Our sustainability reporting is aligned to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and the 10 principles of the U.N. Global Compact (UNGC). For 2022, our sustainability reporting is also aligned with the requirements from SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) and TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures). Clear nonfinancial indicators help us measure our performance.
Our integrated Annual Report, which combines our financial reporting and our nonfinancial statement and contains all material sustainability information required by commercial law can be found here.
Bayer Sustainability Highlight Report
This report highlights key facts and achievements regarding our Sustainability commitments and targets which we aim to achieve through our own business activity and our employees' endeavors. It is a summary of the Sustainability Report, designed to improve the reader’s experience.
Bayer supports the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and several globally recognized declarations for multinational enterprises.
Bayer Supplier Code of Conduct
The Bayer Supplier Code of Conduct is made available to our suppliers with the goal of strengthening our mutual understanding of how well-established principles and standards of sustainability should be practiced in day-to-day business, including the advancement of efforts to contribute to the better health of people, while protecting the planet.
Bayer endorses the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations concerning the disclosure of climate-related information. Our report incorporates all 11 TCFD recommendations, which are classified into four categories: Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, and Metrics & Targets.
UN Global Compact Adherence Report
This report serves as an additional document complementing our Sustainability Report 2021 to underline how Bayer ensures adherence to the 10 principles of the UN Global Compact in detail. Using a new approach, we have structured this report based on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s “Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct” for each principle.
Abstract:
Maize breeding programs have indirectly altered many plant traits; however, our knowledge of some important phenological traits remains unexplored. One such trait is leaf appearance rate, which is crucial for predicting maize development. We studied 40 short-season (103-day) and 38 long-season (111-day) hybrids released from 1980 to 2020 by Bayer Crop Science. Measurements included weekly counting of collared leaves across 13 experiments in the US Corn Belt. The progression of leaf number was expressed as a function of thermal time and described with a trilinear model. Results indicated that new 111-day hybrids produce leaves faster than old hybrids throughout the vegetative phase (7.4% and 3.1% faster before and after the ninth leaf stage, respectively), whereas new 103-day hybrids produce leaves faster only after the ninth leaf stage (9.4%). Thermal time to silking and anthesis decreased by about 1 and 0.56°C day year−1, respectively. Our data revealed that silking and anthesis can precede the final collared leaf by 96°C day (3.3 days under optimal conditions), which indicates an overlap between vegetative and reproductive phases. We concluded that maize breeding has indirectly altered the rate of vegetative development of maize hybrids without affecting the final leaf number. Present results expand our knowledge base on the genotypic variability in maize development traits, which can improve empirical and process-based models used for crop stage and yield prediction.
Read the full study here.
#DYK Breeding for high maize yields helps boosting root carbon inputs?
In a separate scientific study, funded in part through a grant from the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) the Bayer Plant Breeding team in collaboration with Iowa State University (ISU), Purdue University and Donald Danforth Plant Science Center has evaluated how breeding, field management and the environment affect sustainable maize production. Over the last 4 decades, while we have predominantly bred for yield, through this in-depth study, we‘re seeing an improvement in nearly every other trait including, previously unquantified, sustainability benefits. Present findings demonstrate maize breeding and increases in plant density synergistically increased root mass, which is encouraging for sustainability and carbon sequestration. The increase in root mass and carbon suggests that breeding for high maize yields boosts root carbon inputs and that crop improvement aids sustainability.
Read on here.
Abstract:
Understanding historical changes in root depth attributes is needed for crop productivity and sustainability assessments, but such information is rare. We explored whether newer maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids grow roots faster and deeper than older hybrids and quantified the role of management and environment on root trait expression. We measured root front velocity (RFV) and maximum root depth in 11 Bayer Crop Science legacy hybrids released from 1983 to 2017 across five environments in the US Corn Belt during 2021 and 2022. Root depth was measured weekly during vegetative stages with manual probes and the maximum root depth at crop harvest with a Giddings probe. Results indicated that the RFV and maximum root depth slightly increased with the year of hybrid release (0.13% per year, p = 0.1) at 8.7 plants m−2. Historical increases in plant density from 4.7 to 8.7 plants m−2 lowered RFV and maximum root depth, but the new hybrids compensated for this loss, resulting in 4% higher RFV and 3% higher maximum depth when comparing systems from 1983 to 2017. The environment strongly influenced root trait expression (>41%). Rain anomaly and soil bulk density explained a portion of this variation. We found a linear relationship between root depth and leaf number (R2 = 0.95) and a nonlinear relationship between RFV and maximum root depth (R2 = 0.77), which can stimulate crop model improvements. Faster and deeper roots were not correlated with maize yields in our environments. This study enhances our understanding of maize breeding impacts on root traits.
Read the full study here.
Abstract:
Era studies are important to understand historical changes in maize (Zea mays) germplasm and estimate genetic gains, yet information for short-season maize hybrids is limited. Here, we determine grain yield genetic gain in Bayer short-season hybrids (100–105 days) and investigate indirect changes made on 17 secondary traits, including yield components (kernel number, weight, and shelling efficiency), and grain quality traits (oil, protein, starch, ethanol, moisture, and test weight). We evaluated 40 maize hybrids released from 1980 to 2020 across 18 environments in the US Corn Belt. Plant density and N-fertilizer were held constant within each environment. Results indicated a linear increase in grain yield (from 11.1 to 15.3 Mg ha−1, 105 kg ha−1 year−1, or 0.8% year−1) with no sign of a plateau. The increase in grain yield was attributed more to increased kernels per m2 (0.57% year−1) than kernel weight (0.23% year−1). Grain protein concentration decreased until the late 2000s and plateaued thereafter, while starch and ethanol concentration increased until the early 2000s and plateaued thereafter. However, the total amount of protein, starch, and ethanol increased linearly from 1980 to 2020. We concluded that maize breeding for increased grain yield has indirectly affected many traits at different rates and directions. Our results are encouraging for future progress in grain yield increase, update genetic gain information to 2020 for short-season hybrids, and can inform plant breeders, crop physiologists, agronomists, and crop modelers.
Read the full study here.
Highlights:
- We quantified harvest index (HI) genetic gain in maize hybrids.
- The HI relative genetic gain was 0.26% year−1 since 1964.
- The HI increase is attributed to breeding, not to management.
- Plant density and N-fertilizer treatments did not affect the HI genetic gain.
- We estimated that the increase in HI accounts for 15% of the historical maize yield increase in the US Corn Belt.
Read the full study here.
Highlights:
- We explored genetic gain for kernel growth patterns in maize hybrids from two different maturities.
- Kernel weight genetic gain was higher in long than short maturity hybrids (0.37 vs 0.23% year−1).
- Breeding for grain yield has extended the grain-filling duration in long maturity hybrids.
- Breeding for grain yield has increased the potential kernel size in short maturity hybrids.
- Large genotypic variability provides alternative pathways to further increase kernel weight.
Read the full study here.
Abstract:
Quantifying historical changes in maize leaf angle and factors affecting it can enhance our understanding of canopy architecture and light capture, and hence crop productivity. Our objectives were to (1) quantify leaf angle genetic gain per canopy position in Bayer's legacy maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids; (2) dissect the contribution of breeding from plant density on historical changes in leaf angle; and (3) synthesize our findings with literature to determine leaf angle changes over a century of breeding. We measured leaf angle in 78 maize hybrids released between 1980 and 2020 across eight environments in the US Corn Belt. We found that new hybrids had on average 6° more erect leaves than old hybrids. The leaf angle genetic gain (toward more erect leaves) was on average 0.08% year−1 for the middle canopy leaves and eightfold larger for the flag leaf. Our results revealed a synergistic effect with similar contributions of maize breeding and plant density on historical leaf angle changes in the middle canopy. However, changes in the bottom and top canopy leaves were due to breeding. Our results, combined with literature, revealed consistent trends toward more vertical leaves over a century of maize breeding, but the leaf angle genetic gain is slowing down in the last decades. This suggests that leaf angle may have reached near-optimum levels and that multiple ways to maintain the grain yield genetic gain have been functioning in maize breeding. Our study provides prospects to inform breeders and crop modelers to better understand maize leaf architecture and crop yields.
Read the full study here.