Global Impact

Microbials

In agriculture, microbial products are those made from microorganisms to help protect crops from disease and pests, and to encourage healthy growth.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

MRL

(Maximum Residue Level) The potential residues on a harvested crop are regulated by maximum level. 

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

NOAEL

(No Observable Adverse Effect Level) The highest dose where no recognizable harmful effects are observed. 

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

NOEL

No observable effect level, the level of exposure at which no effects of the substance were seen.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Soil Organic Material

Soil organic material is anything that was once alive and is now in or on the soil as it is decomposed into humus. Humus is organic material that has been decomposed by microorganisms and is readily changing form and mass as it decomposes.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Crop Protection

Crop protection is the collection of tools, products, and best practices farmers use to protect their crops from the negative impact of weeds, pests, and disease.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Polycuture

The practice of planting more than one crop at a time in a particular region or field.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Grid Sampling

Designed to support precise approaches to nutrient management, grid sampling is the practice of taking multiple samples of soil per acre. Traditional soil sampling densities were 1 or 2 samples for every 3 or 4 acres. Grid sampling calls for as many as 42 samples per acre which are mapped and flagged throughout the field digitally, leading to an improved understanding of variability in soil nutrient needs on across the field.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Safety standards

Safety standards are the rules and criteria we use to ensure that our crop protection products can be used safely. This concerns the datasets, the models and the methods we use to assess the safety of the use of our crop protection products, as well as the risk management measures to ensure their safe use.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Wood Chip Bioreactor

Simple trenches filled with wood chips that filter water running from drain tile on farms. Their use helps reduce nitrate runoff into nearby waterways.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Aflatoxin

A mycotoxin produced by Aspergillus fungi, which grow whenever conditions are favorable (high moisture and temperature). Occurs in many diverse sources, ranging from major cereal crops to peanut butter, nuts and spices. Aflatoxins are genotoxic and among the most carcinogenic substances known. The main target organ in humans is the liver, but the risk of developing gallbladder cancer is also increased.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Arable Land

Land used for agriculture to grow food, animal feed, biofuel, etc.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Biodiversity

Biological diversity means the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Corn Stover

Stalks, leaves, and cobs that remain in a cornfield after harvest. These materials are the primary source for cellulosic ethanol production and can at times be gathered for animal feeds or grazed. Also referred to as crop residue.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Crop Residue

Plant material that remains after harvest. Can include stalks, leaves, and roots.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Data Analytics

Qualitative and quantitative processes used to enhance productivity and business gain. In agriculture, analytics help farmers become more efficient with their resources, more precise with the timing and rate of inputs, and reduces impact on the environment in the process.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Drain Tile

Piping systems, most commonly corrugated plastic tubing, that are placed underneath the soil to remove excess water from a field of crops. This allows roots to develop to their desired depth and removes standing water from lower portions of the field. This also assists in minimizing erosion by helping excess water exit the field.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

ER50

Half maximal effective rate (ER50) refers to the rate of a substance which induces a response halfway between the baseline and maximum after a specified exposure time, i.e. the rate at which 50% of the maximal effect is observed.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Crop Rotation

A planned sequence of planting crops over time on the same field. Rotating crops provides productivity benefits by improving soil nutrient levels and breaking crop pest cycles.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Good Laboratory Practice

Quality System, providing the formal framework for the conditions under which non-clinical health and environmental safety studies are planned, performed, monitored, recorded, reported, and archived. The details are laid down in legislative regulations as OECD Advisory Documents, EPA and FDA Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) rules and other national laws as e.g. German Chemical Law.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Ecological Interactions

Such as weediness, potential gene flow to wild relatives, susceptibility to disease, and impacts on plant/insect interactions.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Safety Margin

A safety margin is the factor that is added to account for uncertainties. For example, if a chronic test in fish showed no effects at 10μg/L, an assessment factor of 10 is still added, meaning that the acceptable concentration in water would be only 1μg/L. Safety factors in environmental risk assessments vary depending on area and test system, and are typically higher for the assessment of acute effects than for chronic effects.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

LD50

Median lethal dose (LD50) is an indication of the lethal toxicity of a given substance, representing a dose at which 50% of subjects die.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

LR50

Lethal rate (LR50) is an indication of the lethal toxicity of a given substance, representing a rate at which 50% of subjects die.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Plant Breeding

Plant breeding has historically been defined as the cross-breeding of plants in order to develop offspring containing a desired characteristic found in one or both of the parents. 

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Scouting fields/Crops

Crop scouting, also known as field scouting, is the very basic action of traveling through a crop field, usually on foot, while making frequent stops for observations. Crop scouting is done so that a farmer can see how different areas of his or her field are growing and what stressors or pests may be present. If there are problems during the growing season, the farmer can work to mitigate them so those problems do not affect yield at harvest time.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Precision Agriculture

Precision agriculture is the use of advanced technology, equipment, and data analytics to improve crop production practices. Farmers analyze data from their machines, from their fields, and even from satellite imagery to help them be more efficient and accurate with their use of natural resources, such as water, soil, and fuel, as well as their use of inputs, such as fertilizer and crop protection products.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Biotechnology

Biotechnology, or genetic engineering, is the process of using living organisms to improve qualities of a plant such as the plant’s ability to protect itself against damage or improving upon its ability to grow and produce.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Environmental Safety Margin

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Intrinsic Hazard

The inherent property of an agent or situation which has the potential to cause adverse effects when an organism, system or population is exposed to that agent, based on its chemical, physical or biological characteristics (e.g. the intrinsic hazard of sharp knife is to cut).

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

NOEC

No observable effect concentration, the concentration of a substance at which no effects were seen.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Oxford-style debate

An Oxford-style debate is a debate over a predetermined statement—otherwise called a “motion.” Two teams argue “for” or “against” the statement within a formalized structure. The motion for this particular event will be: Pesticides are not necessary for a resilient EU food system.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Strip-till

"Strip-till” is a system in which residue-free strips of soil are tilled ahead of planting using a knife apparatus, such as a fertilizer injection shank. The strips are approximately 6 inches wide or about 1/3 the row width and 4 to 8 inches deep. These strips are cleared of residue and tilled for warming and drying purposes either before or during the planting operation. Fertilizer is often incorporated at time of strip tillage for better seed placement. The seeds are planted directly into the strip of loosened soil. https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail//?cid=nrcs142p2_008163

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Zearalenone

A mycotoxin produced by Fusarium fungi species. Occurs mainly in cereals and corn. A potent estrogenic metabolite. In livestock known to cause infertility, abortion, breeding problems through the alteration of the hormone balance. Exposure of humans through the diet poses health concern due to the onset of several sexual disorders and alterations in the development of sexual apparatus.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Buffer Strips

Small strips of land kept in permanent vegetation, located between primary crops, for the purpose of intercepting pollutants, slowing erosion and managing environmental concerns. These strips often also provide habitat for native wildlife and pollinators.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Conservation Tillage

Conservation tillage includes all forms of reduced tillage. Tillage is the practice of plowing soil to prepare it for planting or after harvest to remove crop debris from the field. For example, ”no-till” involves no disturbance of the soil; and “reduced-till” or “strip-till” involves minimal disturbance. The benefits of this practice include improved moisture retention and reduced soil erosion.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Ergot

Fungi of the genus Claviceps. It grows in rye and related plants and produces alkaloids that can cause severe health issues like hallucinations, nausea, seizures, high fever, loss of muscle strength, and even death, in humans and other mammals.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Genotyping

The process of determining the DNA sequence—the genotype—at specific positions within a gene of an organism

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Pesticide

Any substance or mixture of substances used to alter the life cycle of any pest. They can be naturally derived or synthetically produced. Herbicide: pesticide for weeds Insecticide: pesticide for insects Fungicide: pesticide for fungus Miticide: pesticide for mites Nematicide: pesticide for nematodes

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Phenotypic Evaluation

Plant physically looks and functions as intended

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Seed Treatments

Pesticides applied directly to a seed before planting, for the purpose of protecting seeds, seedlings, and plants from pests.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Agronomic Evaluation

Growth and development of the plant is as intended

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Germplasm

Living genetic resources such as seeds or plant tissues that are maintained for the purpose of plant breeding, preservation, and other research uses.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

LC50

Median lethal concentration (LC50) is an indication of the lethal toxicity of a given substance, representing a concentration at which 50% of subjects die.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Non-target Organism Evaluations

Impacts on animal wildlife, like pollinators, including endangered species.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Phenotyping

The activity or process of determining, analyzing, or predicting all or part of an organism's observable characteristics or traits

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Cover Crops

Cover crops are planted between growing seasons of a farmer’s primary cash crop, for the purpose of improving soil health, reducing erosion, improving soil fertility, and/or reducing soil compaction. There are three primary types of cover crops: tubers like the Tillage Radish; grasses like cereal rye, oats or annual rye grass; and legumes like clover. These cover crops are at times grazed or harvested, but most commonly are terminated through winter freeze or prior to the next crop planting season. Please see the U.S. Carbon Program FAQ for additional details on cover crop requirements.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Emergency Authorizations

Temporary approvals which are only permitted in exceptional situations and according to specific conditions. They allow an otherwise unapproved use of a product to be used on a specific crop, in a limited and controlled way, for a maximum period of 120 days in one year. 

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Nutrient Management

The process of managing the amount, source, timing, and method of nutrient (fertilizer) application, with the goal of optimizing farm productivity while minimizing nutrient losses that could create environmental problems.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

EC50

Half maximal effective concentration (EC50) refers to the concentration of a substance which induces a response halfway between the baseline and maximum after a specified exposure time, i.e. the rate at which 50% of the maximal effect is observed

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Hybrid

Hybrid seeds are created using traditional breeding methods where two different but compatible plants are crossbred to create a new plant — also known as a hybrid. 

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Monoculture

The practice of planting a single crop type in a particular region or field often for an extended period, one planting cycle after another.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Dossiers

Compilation of all study reports and accompanying documents necessary to register an active substance or a plant protection product.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Biofuels

Any fuel derived from living plant matter.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

No-till

“No-till” means the agronomic practice of not performing any tillage from the time of harvest or termination of one cash crop to the time of harvest or termination of the next cash crop in the rotation, as more particularly described at the following website or other source identified by Bayer: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/null/?cid=nrcseprd415270.

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Pesticides

"Any substance or mixture of substances used to alter the life cycle of any pest. They can be naturally derived or synthetically produced. Herbicide: pesticide for weeds Insecticide: pesticide for insects Fungicide: pesticide for fungus Miticide: pesticide for mites Nematicide: pesticide for nematodes"

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Safety standards

VIEW FULL GLOSSARY

Terms and Conditions

The download of study summaries and submission documents is subject to our Terms and Conditions for Access to Crop Protection and/or GM seeds and traits Study Documents. Any use of Study Documents or their content for regulatory or any other commercial purpose is prohibited. Distribution, reproduction, and/or publication can be subject to consent. 

Terms and Conditions for Access to Crop Protection and/or GM seeds and traits Study Documents.

I have read and accept the Terms and Conditions for Access to Crop Protection and/or GM seeds and traits Study Documents.

If you do not agree to these terms and conditions please click on [close] on the top and you will exit the study reports page.

Global Impact

Innovation for

Our Growing Planet

The world population increases by three people every second.

Blue

This number may seem manageable. But by 2050, this “small” increase will result in a total population of about 9.7 billion.

Farms of every size are working to grow more efficiently and sustainably, using fewer natural resources. Smallholder farmers in Asia, Africa, and South America are feeding more than half the planet. Globally, farmers are trying to accomplish increasingly difficult goals — and they need solutions.

At Bayer, we believe that shaping the future of agriculture and making a global impact on growing enough requires commitment to innovation, sustainability, and collaboration. As we strive to deliver innovation, we’re collaborating with partners who believe in the power of human ingenuity to create progress for our world.

Our Commitment to the Environment

Supporting a Growing World

by Protecting our Planet

Learn More

Smallholders

Small Farms with a Large Impact

More than 500 million smallholder farmers feed the growing population in Asia, Africa, and South America. We’re providing them with tailored solutions that help their farms thrive.

Unleashing Smallholder Potential with Hybrid Seeds & Biotech

The Tipping Point of Prosperity

Liam Condon

Nothing Virtual About It: How Digital Tools Are Improving Farmers’ Lives

Scientists working on weed control experiment

Bob Reiter

R&D Pipeline: Toward Tailored Solutions for Farmers Around the World

Paulo Palma Beraldo

Fighting Rural Poverty is Everybody's Mission

Learn More

Collaborations

Our Commitment to Partnership

Shaping the future of agriculture requires partners and researchers who believe in progress through the power of human ingenuity.

Learn More

ForwardFarming- farmer working in a cornfield using smartphone

Bayer ForwardFarming

Demonstrating Sustainable Agriculture

in Practice

Learn More

Man choosing red pepper from grocery store

Food Chain Partnership

Working Together Toward a Sustainable Food System

Bringing together farmers, food exporters and importers, processors, and retailers to work on enhancing product quality, protecting harvests, and improving the traceability of food.

Learn More