Yield10 Bioscience Inc., an agricultural bioscience company, on Aug. 2 announced positive results in the first field test of stacked herbicide tolerance (HT) traits in Camelina. These proprietary stacked HT Camelina varieties developed by Yield10 demonstrate tolerance to the application of an over-the-top herbicide for weed control as well as tolerance to Group 2 herbicide soil residues. These results represent a key advancement for supporting grower adoption of stacked HT Camelina for the biofuel feedstock market by enabling weed control and increased access to acreage previously treated with Group 2 herbicides. Yield10 is executing a program to develop and commercialize spring and winter Camelina varieties with stacked herbicide traits to achieve large acreage adoption of the crop in North America.

In the second quarter of 2023, Yield10 researchers initiated the first field tests of candidate E3902 spring Camelina lines deployed with stacked HT traits intended to provide the plants with tolerance to the application of an over-the-top broadleaf herbicide for weed control as well as tolerance to soil residues of Group 2 herbicides, specifically including tolerance to both imidazolinones (IMI) and sulfonylureas (SU). Preliminary results of these field tests indicate that these Camelina lines demonstrate tolerance to both target herbicide chemistries. By comparison, significant injury was observed to control E3902 Camelina plants following application of an over-the-top herbicide and exposure to increasing concentrations of IMI or SU soil residues. Group 2 herbicides are commonly used to manage weeds in cereal and other crop rotations and can persist in the soil for months following use. Yield10 intends to harvest the plants and collect seed yield and oil yield data in the weeks ahead with the goal of selecting lead and back-up stacked HT spring E3902 Camelina lines for commercial development and seed scale-up.

In addition to its program for spring Camelina, Yield10 researchers have also developed candidate stacked HT traits in a winter Camelina variety, and the first field tests of these stacked HT Camelina lines are planned for the fall of 2023. In the second quarter of 2023, Yield10 filed a request for Regulatory Status Review (RSR) with USDA-APHIS Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS) for stacked herbicide tolerant Camelina under the SECURE Rule, and a response from the agency is pending.

“The positive field test results with our stacked HT spring Camelina underscore the significant progress we are making in the development of elite herbicide tolerant Camelina varieties,” said Kristi Snell, Ph.D., chief science officer of Yield10 Bioscience. “Based on these positive field trial results, we remain firmly on-track executing our program to develop and commercialize stacked herbicide tolerant spring and winter Camelina varieties. The combination of over-the-top broad leaf weed control and tolerance to Group 2 soil residues is intended to provide significant differentiation of our elite Camelina varieties from common types and enable growers to plant Yield10 elite Camelina with confidence on a large-scale.”

“Yield10’s commercial vision for our Camelina feedstock oil program is well aligned with the climate impact and sustainability needs of the biofuel market,” said Oliver Peoples, Ph.D., president and CEO of Yield10 Bioscience. “Our proprietary HT Camelina varieties and stacked HT varieties are designed to be an excellent fit for growers in cover cropping as well as a seamless fit into crop rotations with other major crops in the U.S. and Canada. Based on the positive field test results we have reported over the last year, we remain on track with our plan to launch our first commercial HT Camelina varieties in 2025 and following soon thereafter with stacked HT Camelina varieties.”