Hawaii GM seed business updated
Here's a great article on the biotech industry in Hawaii.
Regards,
Alisa
Hawaii GM seed business updated
Pacific Business News
July 25, 2006
Hawaii is an epicenter for genetically modified crop seed because of its climate, not its remoteness, says the trade group for GM seed growers here.
The Hawaii Crop Improvement Association represents companies that have 8,000 acres in Hawaii for seed crops. Its head told PBN the key is the weather.
"We can grow three to four generations of seeds in a single calendar year here," said association president Paul Koehler. "What that does for the industry is compress the amount of time that it takes to grow the product."
Hawaii farmers grow a small amount of soybeans, sunflowers and cotton for seed, but 95 percent of the crop seed grown in Hawaii is corn and Hawaii grows more corn for seed than it does for eating.
"Corn's center of original is the Central American highlands, and because Hawaii falls within that same geographic latitute, we can grow corn here much easier than we can grow those other crops," Koehler explained. "For instance, soybeans are very daylight-sensitive and we have to supplement with lights to get the soybeans to grow more than about a foot tall, or else plant breeders would have to work on their hands and knees all day."
Genetically modified crops are bred to reduce the amount of pesticides that are used in production of seed, or to reduce the number of kinds of chemicals necessary, or to minimize the amount of tilling necessary.
"Today a grower can choose to have a plant that has insect resistance, or you can have a certain environmental profile that allows the use of certain herbicides," Koehler said. "You can also provide health benefits."
GM seed can go for as little as $80 for a bag of 80,000 kernels, or as much as $150 a bag, depending on the options the farmers chooses, Koehler said.
Environmentalists and some farmers worry about the cross-pollenation of GM crops with other crops. Koehler said the agriculture community has extensive knowledge of how much and how far pollen will actually travel, and GM seed growers plant hedge rows and wind breaks to achieve isolation. They also plant seed a specific distance away from other fields and do staggering planting dates so the GM seed can't be in the right place at the right time.
Comments
Thanks for the information
Posted by: RoitWo | August 25, 2006 7:48 AM
Thanks for the information
Posted by: Frinas | August 30, 2006 10:00 PM