Low Yields from RR soya - Nebraska University Study
Comments by NLP Wessex
(the address of this page is www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex/Documents/gmnebraskasoycomment.htm)
June 2000
Earlier press reports this month of work done at the University of Nebraska on poor yields from Roundup Ready (RR) soya beans were a little sketchy.
Below is the original University press release which gives
more details. It is worth noting the following:
1) The genetic modification process itself appears to have had an adverse effect on the
ability of the plants to yield as well as their unmodified sister lines. This would seem
to undermine claims that the RR beans are 'substantially equivalent' to their non-GM
equivalents and that the process of genetic modification does not produce unintended
effects that are not picked up during the testing process.
2) Research reported last year by scientists at the University of Georgia in Athens showed
that RR beans produce an unintended 20% increase in lignin (the tough, woody form of
cellulose) as a result of the genetic modification for herbicide resistance affecting a
major metabolic pathway. This leaves them prone to excessive stem splitting and crop
losses in high temperature conditions. http://www.biotech-info.net/cracking.pdf
3) Recent data released by Monsanto show that additional fragments of
foreign DNA have been found in the genome of RR beans which were not picked up when they
were approved. http://www.netlink.de/gen/Zeitung/2000/000531b.html
4) None of the above effects appear to have been picked up under the legal approval
processes despite claims that such approval systems are robust.
5) An earlier 1998 opinion poll carried out by the Leopold Centre for
Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University of approximately 800 farmers in Iowa
revealed that most (53%) chose RR beans because they thought they produced higher yields
than non-GM varieties.
But when actual data from their farms was analysed the opposite was found (i.e most
farmers were unaware of the negative yield performance of the new beans they were growing
- this would explain the illogically high uptake of the technology in the US).
"It is interesting to note....that increasing crop yields was cited by
over half the farmers as the reason for planting GMO soybeans, yet yields were actually
lower", reported researchers at the Leopold Centre.
Surely, though, thousands of US farmers can't be wrong on this? For more information
on how this remarkable situation has come about see: http://www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex/Documents/gmlemmings.htm
.
6) The latest Nebraska data showing adverse yields from RR beans confirms similar earlier
extensive data from the University of Wisconsin (Madison) reported in 1999 covering those
states responsible for the majority of US soya bean
production.
7) The Nebraska report also seems to confirm that US farmers are using RR technology to
needlessly destroy weeds to get a 'weed-free' field - the study shows that the economics
do not justify this, and therefore on farm biodiversity is also needlessly being
destroyed.
8) The authors of the Nebraska study conclude that their work shows the importance of
farmers being able to have access to 'research-based information' on GM crops (i.e rather
than relying on claims made by biotechnology companies).
9) The Nebraska and Wisconsin data are especially important as they comprise
'side-by-side' trials under controlled conditions (by contrast, for example, USDA
aggregated annual data on GM crops do not involve controls for variations in site
conditions and husbandry methods, and therefore do not represent 'scientific' findings on
the agronomic performance of such crops).
10) The Nebraska study was funded by the Nebraska Soybean Board and was initiated after
producers began asking yield-related questions about Roundup Ready soybeans in 1997.
For more information on the frequently poor physical and economic performance of GM crops
visit:
http://www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex/Documents/gmagric.htm
GM CROPS - A VICTORY OF SOPHISTICATED MARKETING OVER SOUND SCIENCE
NATURAL LAW PARTY WESSEX
nlpwessex@bigfoot.com
www.btinternet.com/~nlpwessex
============================================================================
NEWS RELEASE FROM IANR NEWS SERVICE, UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
Research Shows Roundup Ready Soybeans Yield Less
For Release: On Receipt
Research Shows Roundup Ready Soybeans Yield Less
CLAY CENTER, Neb. -- Soybean plants genetically modified to resist a popular non-selective
herbicide yield less than conventional soybeans, University of Nebraska research shows.
Two years of NU Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources research showed Roundup
Ready soybeans yield 6 percent less than their closest relatives and 11 percent less than
high-yielding conventional soybeans. This averages to three fewer bushel per acre, or 480
fewer bushels on a 160-acre field.
NU Agronomist Roger Elmore, who headed this study, said the research was initiated after
producers began asking yield-related questions about Roundup Ready soybeans in 1997, about
the same time early test results from Nebraska and other state universities were released.
The questions and early results hinted Roundup Ready soybeans yielded less than
conventional beans.
"Preliminary studies indicated something was going on," Elmore said. Soybeans
are broadleaf legumes that grow to about 30 inches, leaving them susceptible to weeds such
as velvetleaf, waterhemp and shattercane. Weeds can outgrow soybeans, stealing moisture,
sunlight and nutrients, and thus lower yields. Weed management can be tricky because most
broadleaf herbicides can wipe out soybeans, along with weeds. Roundup Ready soybeans
contain a gene that allows them to be treated with Roundup Ultra, the most popular of the
glyphosate-based herbicides.
Going into the research, NU scientists knew one of two things was responsible for the
Roundup Ready yield penalty: either spraying with Roundup or the gene insertion process.
Their studies showed spraying had no effect. Researchers sprayed 13 Roundup Ready
cultivars with three substances: Roundup, ammonium sulfate that enhances herbicide
activity and weed control, and water.
Roundup Ready yields were consistently 55 bushels per acre, which indicated Roundup didn't
affect soybean growth, development or yields. From that, the scientists deduced the gene
insertion process was responsible.
Elmore and his colleagues then focused on the effects of the gene insertion process in
dryland and irrigated studies at North Platte, Clay Center, Lincoln and Concord. They
compared five Roundup Ready cultivars; their closest conventional relatives, called sister
lines; and high-yielding conventional cultivars. In this study, weeds in all test plots
were controlled with conventional herbicides and by hand; Roundup was not used. This
allowed scientists to compare yields without the variable of
Roundup application complicating results, Elmore said.
The high-yielding conventional soybean lines yielded 57.7 bushels per acre, their sister
lines yielded 55 bushels per acre and the Roundup Ready soybeans yielded 52 bushels per
acre. This research showed that Roundup Ready soybeans' lower yields stem from the gene
insertion process used to create the glyphosate-resistant seed. This scenario is called
yield drag. The types of soybeans into which the gene is inserted account for the rest of
the yield penalty. This is called yield lag.
Elmore likened yield drag to the effect an air conditioner has on a new pickup. When the
pickup's air conditioner is on, performance is less but it's not the pickup's fault. Yield
lag, on the other hand, would be analogous to putting high-octane gas into a 1930's car:
the car just doesn't have what it takes to perform by today's standards.
Despite lower yields and more expensive seed, Elmore predicts producers will continue
planting Roundup Ready as well as conventional soybeans.
"Farmers are willing to pay some penalty for the better weed control," Elmore
said.
This research helps producers still deciding whether to plant conventional or Roundup
Ready soybeans weigh the trade-offs, Elmore said. On one hand, Roundup Ready seed costs
more and yields less, but fields can be practically weed-free. On the other, conventional
seed yields better and is less expensive, but weed control is more complex and perhaps
more time-consuming.
Roundup Ready soybeans have become increasingly popular since their introduction in 1996.
That year 7 percent of soybeans planted in the United States were Roundup Ready, compared
to 57 percent in 1999.
Elmore said some producers would rather pay more for the seed and accept reduced yields in
exchange for a clean, weed-free field on their farms, even though that route is more
costly.
"If you can control weeds with conventional herbicide, you're probably better off
than to go with Roundup Ready," Elmore said. If weed control is a problem, he said
planting Roundup Ready soybeans is perhaps the better option.
The Nebraska research provided scientific answers relatively quickly to questions by
producers and the Nebraska Soybean Board, which funded the work.
"Two years is awfully fast for this kind of work," Elmore said. This
project demonstrates the importance of a land-grant university responding to a
pressing local need for research-based information.
This research was conducted by IANR's Agricultural Research Division.
# # #
5/16/00-ca CONTACTS: Roger Elmore, Ph.D., professor, agronomy,
(402)762-4433
elmore.16 Cheryl Alberts, IANR
news writer, (402)472-3030
******************************
If you have questions, please call:
IANR News and Publishing
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Phone: (402)472-3030/fax: (402)472-3093
E-mail: IANRNEWS@unlnotes01.unl.edu
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Footnote: Above news release was dated 16 May 2000 - Click here for original
May 2001 report reveals additional problems with Roundup Ready soybeans
Will GM crops deliver benefits to farmers? - some
realities behind biotechnology myths
For more information on gm food risks click here
Why genetic engineering is not science based
Fundamental scientific conceptual errors in the development of recombinant DNA technology
