Read our related editorial: GM faces unfair regulation in Europe
A HERBICIDE-resistant variety of oilseed rape (canola) has raised questions about whether its use by farmers in Europe could be as damaging to farmland wildlife as some genetically modified crops. The development also challenges the effectiveness of Europe鈥檚 regulations governing the sale of new crop varieties produced by conventional breeding.
Like many genetically modified crops, the new variety can tolerate herbicides. Yet because the variety has been developed by conventional plant-breeding techniques, rather than by genetic manipulation, it is exempt from strict European regulations governing new GM crops. What鈥檚 more, researchers have voiced concerns that older versions of the non-GM crop, being grown in Canada and Australia, can be more harmful than some GM crops.
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Large 鈥渇arm-scale鈥� trials in the UK completed in 2003 concluded that GM oilseed rape and sugar beet, resistant to the weedkillers glufosinate ammonium and glyphosate respectively, were worse for farmland wildlife than their conventional counterparts.
The new variety of oilseed rape has been developed by BASF of Ludwigshafen in Germany. Like the company鈥檚 existing Clearfield varieties, it is resistant to weedkillers called imidazolinones, which kill weeds related to oilseed rape such as wild mustard.
The key feature of the new strain is that it relies on a single gene mutation rather than two. This will make it easier for the trait to be bred into high-yield rape varieties.
BASF hopes to have the new crop on sale from 2013, and eventually in Europe. 鈥淲e certainly see Europe as a potential market,鈥� a spokesman told New Scientist. Target countries include Germany, France and the UK.
Analysis of farms in Canada and Australia that have been growing existing Clearfield varieties suggest that imidazolinones can linger in soil for longer than glyphosate, the weedkiller used with many GM crops. 鈥淪ome crops cannot be planted the year after their use due their susceptibility to the lingering soil residues,鈥� says Richard Roush of the University of Melbourne in Australia. 鈥淔rom an agronomic standpoint, it has all of the issues of GM rape, but is arguably worse,鈥� he says.
Another potential problem is that the resistance could jump from the crops to weeds that the herbicide is designed to kill, such as wild radish. 鈥淩esistance to the imidazolinone herbicides occurs quite quickly in weeds, much faster than resistance to glyphosate,鈥� says Christopher Preston of the University of Adelaide in South Australia.
BASF stresses that the new strain has been extensively tested. 鈥淵ears of laboratory and field testing are done on all plants, both transgenic and non-transgenic, and the crops are proven to be safe for the environment and people,鈥� it says.
Whether the new BASF crop makes it into Europe or not, its potential to do so highlights inconsistencies in the current regulatory system, says Les Firbank, who led the farm-scale trials in the UK. 鈥淚t raises the interesting question of whether we over-regulate GM crops, or under-regulate the others,鈥� he says.
鈥淭he question is, do we over-regulate genetically modified crops, or under-regulate the others?鈥�
The European Commission declined an invitation by New Scientist to comment, beyond saying it is 鈥渁nalysing the issue further鈥�.
Read our related editorial: GM faces unfair regulation in Europe
