Because of the need for more effective use of agricultural land to feed the world’s growing population, the people at Dow are applying science and technology to more sustainable agricultural practices and more resilient crops. For example, the HERCULEX™ family of traits, from Dow AgroSciences LLC (a Dow subsidiary), help corn crops to protect themselves from damaging insect pests.
HERCULEX traits combine high-yielding genetics with the only in-plant insect protection against corn rootworm, European corn borer, western bean cutworm and black cutworm. The result is more corn, with less loss due to feeding damage by insects. Developments such as this, which increase the efficiency of land already in use, contribute to preservation of non-agricultural land, lower tillage versus conventional farming, and a potential reduction in water use with stress-tolerant or drought-resistant plants.
This kind of innovative thinking and collaborative effort is just one example of how the Human Element at Dow is contributing to more sustainable chemistry solutions; for more, please visit http://www.dow.com/commitments/studies/index.htm
