GM Crops: GMO Seeds Benefit Environment
GMO Pundit
University of Illinois (press release), via Agbioview
July 10, 2007
Here’s the excerpt of a great article published by GMO Pundit on the environmental benefits of GM crops.…
URBANA - Genetically modified seeds that are resistant to a low-toxicity herbicide, glyphosate, have a positive environmental impact when compared to other technologies to combat weeds, according to a recent University of Illinois study.
"With the emergence of glyphosate-resistant (GR) weeds, the environmental consequences of alternatives to the use of genetically modified seed are of increasing importance," explained Gerald Nelson, a professor in the U of I Department of Agricultural and Consumer Sciences.
Nelson and his doctoral student Justin G. Gardner conducted a study that simulated the environmental effect of abandoning the glyphosate-resistant seed if weeds develop immunity to it. They utilized a well-known mammalian toxicity measure, the LD 50 dose for rats (the volume of pesticide needed to kill 50 percent of a test population of rats), to assess one potential environmental impact. They simulated the consequences for corn, soybeans, and cotton.
"With conventional tillage, we found that the use of GR seeds reduces the number of LD 50 doses applied per hectare by 17 percent to 98 percent, depending on the crop," said Nelson. "With no-till, the use of GR seeds reduces LD 50 doses only in corn.
"If farmers switch to conventional seeds because of GR-resistant weeds but maintain the same tillage practices, our simulation suggests that LD 50 doses could increase by as much as 100 LD 50 doses per hectare in soybeans, and 500 LD 50 doses per hectare in cotton, or 11.4 and 19.8 percent, respectively."
Reducing LD 50 doses per hectare generally depends on the crop and whether the tillage system changes….
…Recently summarized in Science magazine, the detailed results are available in a paper forthcoming in the Journal of Pest Management Science.
Full article at GMO Pundit.
