Island Breath: Syngenta finds Roundup loosing effrect with maize

SUBJECT: GMO AGRICULTURE

SOURCE: JERI DIPIETRO ofstone@aol.com

POSTED: 17 JUNE 2008 - 8:00pm EST

Syngenta warns US growers over GM maize lines

image above: Detail of cover of Nebraska University Cooperative Extension CD9 in 2004

by Michael Hanson on 17 June 2008

Interesting article just published in Asgrow. Syngenta is telling farmers not to plant 5 glyphosate-tolerant corn varieties due to "stress symptoms after glyphosate applications."

These data suggest some instability in the expression of glyphosate tolerance, since saying the problem is due to "environmental conditions affecting a specific parent maize line common to the five hybrids," is just an obfuscating way of saying that the problem was due to the GM parent.

It's possible that this GM parent line (or transformation event), under stressful environmental conditions becomes more susceptible to glyphosate (e.g. the tolerance trait is not stable) and that these same "environmental conditions" lead to the same problem in the 5 hybrids.

But Sygenta is vague on a number of points: i) the exact "environmental conditions," ii) the specific effect these conditions had on the parent line, and ii)
whether the "narrow band of the northern US corn belt" exhibits the same
environmental conditions that lead to the problem in the GM parent line.

But until we have more data on this case, we can't say anything for sure.

Syngenta warning over GM maize lines
by Andy Beer on 17 June 2008 Published Online

Syngenta Seeds has warned US growers not to apply glyphosate herbicide to five genetically modified glyphosate-tolerant maize hybrids. Some plantings "in a narrow band of the northern US Corn Belt" have exhibited stress symptoms after glyphosate applications, the company says. "These hybrids represent less than 1% of our corn seed portfolio and less than one-tenth of 1% of total US corn acres," says Chuck Lee of Syngenta Seeds. The company attributes the problem to environmental conditions affecting a specific parent maize line
common to the five hybrids.

see also:
Island Breath: Ban GMO's Now! 6/5/08
Island Breath: Wheat Crop Failure 4/28/08
Island Breath: Worldwide rice shortage 4/23/08
Island Breath: Locovores 3/27/06
Island Breath: 50 Million Farmers Needed 11/18/06