WASHINGTON — Syngenta has acquired Cuthbert, Ga.-based Circle One Global, Inc., a provider of antitoxin crop protection technology that includes the product Afla-Guard. The Afla-Guard technology originally was developed by the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and may be used to help control aflatoxin, a toxin that may develop in crops such as corn and peanuts.

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Syngenta said it plans to apply for an extension of the registration line on Afla-Guard to other crops besides corn and peanuts. In addition, the company plans to seek registration in other countries.

According to Syngenta, Afla-Guard is the first registered microbial antifungal crop protection product for use on corn and peanuts that has been effective in reducing the levels of aflatoxin, contamination of which costs U.S. corn and peanut farmers more than $200 million annually.

"The acquisition of this technology adds an important biological crop protection technology to the Syngenta portfolio, further complementing our modern crop protection portfolio," said Valdemar Fischer, president of Syngenta Crop Protection, North America. "Food security and quality are high on the agenda of the food chain and consumers. This new, sustainable technology can dramatically increase usable yield, protect growers’ investments in crop production, and may allow for the re-introduction of corn to parts of the southern U.S. where aflatoxin has prevented its cultivation for many years."