News › New GM crop management systems give wildlife benefits

Fat-hen weed seed shed at harvest

19 January 2005

In research published today¹, scientists from Broom's Barn Research Station conclusively show how to use GM herbicide tolerant (GMHT) crop technology for environmental benefit. The authors suggest that the new crop management approaches they have demonstrated could resolve legitimate concerns about indirect environmental effects of GM sugar beet on weeds, insects and birds. John Pidgeon, director of Broom's Barn comments that 'This work adds a new perspective to future discussions about the benefits from GMHT sugar beet that the public, environmentalists and farmers should all be interested in'.

To obtain wildlife benefits in spring, the authors have improved timing of herbicide application to maximise both crop yields and the benefits from leaving weeds between crop rows. Maximising yields removes barriers to farmer up-take. However, autumn environmental benefits are more important, as autumn weeds provide seeds for bird food and for recharging weed seedbanks. The paper demonstrates a system that gives maximum crop yield AND increased weed seed availability (up to 16 fold), compared to previous GM or conventional management systems tested in the government's recent Farm Scale Evaluation trials. The new system is extremely simple in comparison, it involves applying the first spray fairly early and omitting the second spray - making additional cost and pesticide savings on top of the already large savings compared to conventional practice.

This work was funded in 2001 and 2002 by the Association of Biotechnology Companies, under a legal agreement that ensures that Broom's Barn Research Station can publish results in full with no restrictions or prior consultation with the Companies. Since 2002, Broom's Barn has received no further funding from ABC.

Publication

› Management of genetically modified herbicide tolerant sugar beet for spring and autumn environmental benefit (10.1098/rspb.2004.2948)

Contacts

› Michael May, Gillian Champion and Aiming Qi

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