Coffee-drinking has reached cult status. The jet-black drink is becoming ever more popular around the world, and coffee beans are now the second most important traded commodity after crude oil. Creating the perfect coffee aroma doesn’t just depend on having healthy coffee trees – the beans also need to be treated in the right way.

Outbreaks of pest insects continue to affect agricultural crops such as oilseed rape, potato and cereals, often causing serious harvest losses. Achieving the optimal level of control through careful timing of applications is becoming more difficult, because the activity of some insecticides is being lost to resistance. But this problem can be countered if the entire product portfolio is brought into play.

Fashion designers have their own way of defying the recession: they continue presenting themselves with as much imagination and extravagance as they do at the best of times. Fine materials and sophisticated cuts sparkle on the catwalk. But it’s not just velvet and silk that inspire the couturiers: cotton also produces fine, skin-friendly textiles. Bayer CropScience’s FiberMax cotton provides the basis for high-quality fabrics.