Abstract
ABSTRACTAgronomic characteristics of genetically modified (GM) MON 89034 × TC1507 × NK603 × DAS-40278–9 (PowerCore™ Enlist™), MON 89034 × TC1507 × NK603 (PowerCore™), and DAS-40278–9 (Enlist™) corn, a non-GM near-isogenic hybrid, and 2 commercial non-GM hybrids were assessed in a field study to determine if the agronomic performance of the GM corn hybrids is equivalent to that of non-transgenic hybrid corn. The MON 89034 × TC1507 × NK603 × DAS-40278–9 hybrid corn was developed through stacking of 4 individual transgenic events, MON 89034, TC1507, NK603, and DAS-40278–9 by traditional breeding and contains the cry1A.105 and cry2Ab2 (MON 89034), cry1F and pat (TC1507), cp4 epsps (NK603) and aad-1 (DAS-40278–9) transgenes. These transgenes encode the proteins Cry1A.105, Cry2Ab2, and Cry1F, which confer insect resistance, PAT, CP4 EPSPS, and AAD-1, which confer herbicide tolerance. The following agronomic characteristics were assessed in the study: initial and final stand count, seedling vigor, time to silk, time to pollen shed, pollen viability, plant height, ear height, stalk lodging, root lodging, days to maturity, stay green, disease incidence, insect damage, herbicide injury, and yield. The agronomic assessment was conducted in 2 regions of Brazil (Indianopolis-MG; Cravinhos-SP). The agronomic attributes for all GM entries were statistically indistinguishable from the non-GM near-isogenic hybrid. In addition, most of the agronomic assessments fell within the range of the commercial varieties included in the study. Taken together, MON 89034 × TC1507 × NK603 × DAS-40278, MON 89034 × TC1507 × NK603, and DAS-40278–9 were found to be agronomically equivalent to non-GM corn.
Highlights
Producing a sufficient quantity of food will become increasingly challenging as the world’s population grows to an estimated 9 billion people by 2050
No herbicide injury was observed after the previous applications in the PowerCoreTM EnlistTM entry or after any of the applications in the PowerCoreTM and EnlistTM entries
No significant overall treatment effect was observed between the non-Genetically modified (GM) near-isogenic hybrid and the GM treatments for of the agronomic characteristics assessed: initial stand, final stand, time to pollen silk, pollen color at 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes, pollen shape at 60, 90, and 120 minutes, plant vigor, insect damage at V5 and R3, stay green, plant height, ear height, stalk lodging, root lodging and yield
Summary
Producing a sufficient quantity of food will become increasingly challenging as the world’s population grows to an estimated 9 billion people by 2050. To supply the estimated 70% increase in the world’s food needs that will occur as a result of this population growth, it is imperative that the use of current agricultural technologies is maximized and that new technologies are developed (FAO, 2014). Farmers are seeking ways to increase crop production while reducing the use of resources. Modified (GM) crops are a vital tool for increasing productivity while reducing the impact of agriculture on the environment. The productivity of crops grown for human consumption is negatively impacted by weed, pathogen, and arthropod/ animal pests. Estimates on potential and actual losses due to pests, even with current crop protection practices, are given to be around 31% (Oerke, 2006)
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