Under the name Provisia, BASF has developed a new herbicide-tolerant rice system that it said will provide farmers with a new tool for post-emergence control of a broad range of grass weeds, including ALS-resistant grasses, weedy rice and red rice.

The German group said it expects to register the rice, developed through traditional, rather than recombinant, breeding techniques, as early as 2016 in the US. Other countries will follow.

The new system is comprised of Provisia seed containing the Provisia trait, which allows farmers to safely apply Provisia herbicide, an ACCase or group 1 herbicide site of action. Although Provisia herbicide will initially control grass weeds, BASF said it is working on combinations with other herbicides that will also provide control of broadleaf and sedge weeds.

Jason Kuhlemeier, technical market manager at BASF, said Provisia was designed to be used as a companion to the group's Clearfield Production System for rice, allowing growers to rotate herbicide sites of action for controlling grass weeds including weedy rice and red rice. This provides a sustainable system to manage the risk of developing weeds that are resistant to available herbicides," he explained.  

BASF began initial research on this new system in 2008 and filed patent applications in 2009.

In May of this year, BASF and RiceTec completed an agreement covering Provisia Rice System breeding. RiceTec is geographically the broadest hybrid rice breeding program globally and has led the introduction of hybrid rice in the United States. Discussions with other selected seed partners are planned continue as well.