permaculture

[PacificEdge <pacedge@magna.com.au>]

Article appearing in the Sydney Morning Herald16.8.02...

Superweeds feeding on GM crops
August 16 2002

Weeds have become stronger and fitter through cross-breeding with genetically modified crops, leading to fears that out-of-control superweeds will invade farms growing standard crops.

Two research teams, one working on sunflowers in the United States and the other on sugar beet in France, have shown weeds and GM crops readily swapping genes.

In the case of wild sunflowers, classed as "weeds", specimens became hardier and produced 50 per cent more seeds if crossed with GM sunflowers programmed to resist seed-nibbling moth larvae.

Allison Snow, head of the Ohio State University team, said in New Scientist that she was shocked. "It does not prove all GM crops are dangerous. I just think we need to be careful because genes can be very valuable for a weed and persist forever once they are out there."

The company which developed the GM sunflower has abandoned the idea of selling it commercially.

The sugar beet results show that wild and GM varieties swapped genes, sometimes aiding the wild varieties and hurting the GM plants, which produced lower yields. 

Writing in the Journal of Applied Ecology, the University of Lille team said it had underestimated the likelihood of such swaps.

The two findings add to the fears of environmental groups and organic farmers that normal crops could be contaminated by GM varieties, making weeds impossible to control.

The Guardian

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Russ Grayson
Pacific Edge Media; TerraCircle regional development team
Sydney, Australia.