Seed Today - Q3 2008 - (Page 79)

India Southeast Asia Bt Bringal (Eggplant) The Government of India through its biotechnology regulatory body (GEAC) has approved experimental seed production of Bt brinjal (eggplant) hybrids by Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company (Mahyco). The GEAC has permitted experimental seed production of seven Bt brinjal hybrids. The seeds shall be produced under the strict supervision of Director Horticulture Research or Director Research of the State Agriculture University. The new hybrid Bt brinjal variety contains cry1Ac gene (EE1 event developed indigenously by Mahyco), which makes the crop resistant to the fruit and shoot borer (FSB). FSB can cause significant yield loss and reduce the number of marketable fruits. Farmers often resort to intensive use of pesticides to control the FSB. Mahyco has already transferred its Bt eggplant technology to public sector institutions in Bangladesh and the Philippines. HT Rice There is increasing interest in shifting traditional rice (puddled transplanting) to direct-seeding due to shortages of labor and water, escalating fuel price, and adverse effects of puddling on soil health, particularly in the Indo-Gangatic region. Resource conserving technologies (RCT) such as zero-tillage and bedplanting are being promoted in the rice-wheat cropping system of South Asia. Researchers have found that weed control is the biggest challenge in the success of non-puddled direct-seeded zero-tilled/bed-planted rice. In the absence of weed control, reduction in rice yield has been reported ranging from 35-100 percent in direct-seeded rice/RCTs system. Herbicide-tolerant rice will overcome weed management constraints of direct-seeded rice and therefore, will facilitate adoption of RCTs on the entire system. Other potential benefits include improvement in soil health, timely sowing of wheat, and reduction in greenhouse gases. Global G8 Support GM Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrial nations agree that biotechnology could help farmers to increase crop productivity and provide more healthful food around the globe. Addressing the critical issue of global food security, the leaders agreed on July 8 to “promote science-based risk analysis including the contribution of seed varieties developed through biotechnology.” France United States Cocoa Mars candy company says it will invest $10 million in a five year project to sequence cocoa’s double helix. Mars, IBM and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) anticipate it will take about five years to complete the entire sequencing, assembly, annotation and study of the cocoa genome. Initially, scientists from USDA-ARS and Mars will conduct various aspects of the project at the USDA-ARS facility in Miami to generate the raw DNA of cocoa. For the next step, IBM researchers will analyse the data, and identify patterns in order to develop cocoa’s genetic map. The cocoa genome consists of about 400 million base pairs, compared to three billion base pairs in the human genome. Ransacked Three fields of GM corn were destroyed in early July in southwest France. The French farm ministry calls the acts illegal and irresponsible for France’s research sector. “This destruction of experiments aimed at testing new GMOs irresponsibly sap (France’s) research capacity,” the farm ministry says. The experiments were being carried out by Syngenta, Pioneer and Monsanto. The attacks came only a few days after the promulgation of a new French law which authorizes a jail sentence of up to three years and a fine of 150,000 euros when an experimental GM field is destroyed. Although France in February banned the production of GM crops, the cultivation of GM seeds for scientific purposes is still legal, provided companies respect rules aimed at limiting dissemination of pollen to conventional fields. Brazil GM Corn Brazil’s largest agricultural cooperative, Coamo, plans to start producing genetically modified seed corn in 2008-09. Coamo plans to produce 7,000 60-kilogram bags of GM seed corn across Parana, Mato Grosso do Sul and Santa Catarina states. Brazil’s National Biosafety Commission (CTNBio) recently approved Bayer CropScience Ltd.’s LibertyLink, Monsanto Co.’s Guardian brand of genetically modified corn, and Syngenta’s BT11 transgenic corn. According to CTNBio, over 50 percent of the soybeans planted in Brazil is GM. Third Quarter 2008 79

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Seed Today - Q3 2008

Seed Today - Q3 2008 Contents Editor’s Notes Cover Feature Fred Miller, Ph.D., MMR Genetics Crosbyton Seed Company AOSCA Greg Lowry Floyd Hansmeirer AOSA/SCST According to ASTA Seedsellers, Inc. BinMaster Blake Sieker Ad Index

Seed Today - Q3 2008

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