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## Research and Development 

In order to address grower needs holistically, we must continue to build on our strengths and deliver quality seeds and novel active ingredients while enabling the development of grower-centric solutions that integrate our technologies. Our Research and Development (R&D) organization is designed to do this in an efficient way, and we are building the capabilities and culture to ensure effective collaboration both within and outside Syngenta. 

## Delivering innovative chemistries and seeds 

In 2011, we invested over US$ 1 billion in R&D. Our global network of R&D centers maintains strong development pipelines for each of our major crops (see pages 20–31). 

New chemical products include isopyrazam and sedaxane, two fungicidal active ingredients with a novel mode of action (SDHI). Isopyrazam, launched in 2010 in barley in the UK and now registered in several countries, is a foliar broad spectrum fungicide that protects against Septoria tritici  in cereals. Sedaxane, launched this year in Argentina as VIBRANCE ™ , is a broad spectrum fungicide specifically designed for use as a seed treatment to protect crops against difficult-to-control diseases including Rhizoctonia . Sedaxane protects and enhances the plant’s emerging root system, leading to strong plant establishment and improved crop performance. It won a 2011 Agrow award for best new crop protection product. 

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Improving plant performance under environmental stress is a key area of focus for R&D, and we are addressing this in a number of ways. Our corn native trait solution, AGRISURE ® ARTESIAN ™ , is the first water optimization trait to reach the market. It enables plants to grow better under water stress and without yield loss under normal conditions. In cereals, a chemistry solution, MODDUS ®  – part of our crop enhancement offer – improves root mass and root length, helping the plant improve water and nitrogen use efficiency by around 10 percent. Such crop enhancement chemistries will also be used to help plants overcome stress in a broad spectrum of specialty crops. We also have solutions in our Lawn and Garden business with the plant growth regulator PRIMO MAXX ® , which improves turf grass appearance and reduces stress under drought conditions. 

One fast-growing market where we are ensuring we maximize plant potential is biofuels. In 2011, we launched the first corn output trait, ENOGEN ® . This trait produces an enzyme – corn amylase – that helps increase ethanol yield during the production process, in addition to reducing the CO 2 footprint and water and energy consumption. 

Taking innovation to the cutting edge, we are accelerating plant breeding programs by using computer-assisted modeling. For example, by modeling desirable characteristics of sunflowers, we found out that plants with larger leaves near the flower produced more oil. This technique has enabled us to faster develop other higher-performing hybrids. 

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## External recognition 

Syngenta Fellow John Clough (left) won the 2011 Creativity in Industry Prize from the UK’s Royal Society of Chemistry, and Peter Maienfisch (right) received the Medal of the Slovak Chemical Society. 

