Dow AgroSciences and DuPont subsidiary Pioneer Hi-Bred announced Wednesday that they will make their Herculex insect resistant traits for corn more readily available to growers.

The two companies, co-developers of Herculex, will eliminate a provision that would have delayed when Dow AgroSciences could license Herculex RW Rootworm Protection and Herculex XTRA Insect Protection to other seed companies. The companies agreed to allow the making of molecular stacks with the Herculex traits, as well as breeding stacks with their own or other traits.

"Regional seed companies will now be able to evaluate and introduce these traits into their lineup in the 2007 season," says Tom Wiltrout, Dow AgroSciences' global business leader for corn.

Various Herculex traits include both above and below-ground protection, tolerance to Liberty herbicide, and in-plant protection against black cutworm and western bean cutworm.