Impacts of herbicide-resistant soybean ZUTS-33 with g10-epsps gene on field biodiversity

Abstract

Evaluating the impacts of genetically modified crops on biodiversity is a necessary step before their release to the field and obtaining environmental safety certificates. To assess the ecological safety of herbicide-resistant soybean ZUTS-33, we compared arthropod diversity, diseases occurrence, nodule number, and weed diversity through spraying herbicide or water on ZUTS-33, and its parental control receptor HC-3 and main cultivar soybean ZH-13 in a field experiment. The results showed that there was no significant difference of arthropod diversity (number of insects per 100 plants, Shannon index, Simpson index and Pielou index), diseases incidence rates and disease index, nodules and weed diversity between ZUTS-33 and non-genetically modified control soybean HC-3 and ZH-13. Spraying herbicide on ZUTS-33 had no significant effect on arthropod diversity, diseases and rhizobium compared with those treatments of spraying clear water on ZUTS-33, non-genetically modified control HC-3 and ZH-13, and the abundance of weeds were significantly decreased.