Bayer scientist Dr. Hansjörg Krähmer has found an active ingredient that successfully controls the weed.
Average temperatures are rising all around the world, and climate change is altering conditions in agriculture. This means that farmers are facing entirely new enemies on their fields. Weeds and pests that they have never seen before are arriving with increasing frequency from other climate zones. Ragweed is a particularly striking example. Its allergenic pollen can even trigger severe asthma attacks in people who are allergic.
Successful field trials
Ragweed is not the only weed to benefit from climate change. Rising temperatures allow heat-loving plant and insect pests to penetrate new latitudes. Researchers working for Bayer CropScience are looking for substances to control these new plagues, and have been successful in one particular case: Bayer's herbicide Laudis® has already proved to be effective in field trials. To find out more about how this newly-arrived pest is being controlled in farmers' fields, click on the link below (site available only in German).