![]() ![]() The aim has been to provide an up-to-date and as accurate as possible assessment of some of the key environmental impacts associated with the global use of GM crops. The study integrates data for 20 into the context of earlier developments and updates the findings of earlier analysis presented by Brookes and Barfoot, 2020. This paper presents estimates of some of the main environmental impacts associated with the widespread use of crops containing these GM traits by focusing on changes in the use of insecticides and herbicides applied to the GM crops relative to conventionally grown alternatives. In addition, the GM papaya and squash referred to above are resistant to important viruses (eg, ringspot in papaya), the GM apples are non-browning and the GM potatoes (first planted in 2016) have low asparagine (low acrylamide which is a potential carcinogen) and reduced bruising. Instead of applying insecticide for pest control, a very specific and safe insecticide is delivered via the plant itself through ‘Bt’ gene expression. This GM insect resistance (GM IR), or ‘Bt’ technology offers farmers resistance in the plants to major pests, such as stem and stalk borers, earworms, cutworms, and rootworm (eg, Ostrinia nubilalis, Ostrinia furnacalis, Spodoptera frugiperda, Diatraea spp, Helicoverpa zea, and Diabrotica spp) in maize, bollworm/budworm ( Heliothis sp and Helicoverpa) in cotton, caterpillars ( Helicoverpa armigeru) in soybeans and the fruit and shoot borer ( Leucinodes orbanalis) in brinjal. Resistance to specific insect pests of maize, cotton, soybeans, and brinjal. This GM Herbicide Tolerant (GM HT) technology allows for the ‘over the top’ spraying of the (GM HT) crops with these specific herbicides, that target both grass and broad-leaved weeds but do not harm the crops themselves ![]() Since 2016, crops with additional tolerance to active ingredients like 2,4-D and dicamba have been introduced, mostly in North America. The most commonly developed trait has been tolerance to glyphosate, followed by glufosinate in maize, cotton, canola (spring oilseed rape), soybean, sugar beet, and alfalfa. Tolerance to the application of specific herbicides. There are two main categories of GM crop traits widely used that provide: In addition, small areas of GM sugar beet (adopted in the USA and Canada since 2008), papaya (in the USA since 1999 and China since 2008), alfalfa (in the USA initially in 2005–2007 and then from 2011), squash (in the USA since 2004), apples (in the USA since 2016), potatoes (in the USA since 2015), and brinjal (in Bangladesh since 2015) have been planted. In terms of the share of the main crops in which GM traits have been commercialized (soybeans, maize/corn, cotton, and canola), GM traits accounted for 47.4% of the global plantings to these four crops in 2020. Since then there has been a dramatic increase in plantings and by 2020, the global planted area was 185.6 million hectares (ha). The technology that has delivered the largest change in pesticide use has been insect resistant cotton, where a 339 million kg of active ingredient saving has occurred and the associated environmental impact (as measured by the EIQ indicator) has fallen by about a third.Īlthough the first commercial GM crops were planted in 1994 (tomatoes), 1996 was the first year in which a significant area of crops containing GM traits were planted (1.66 million hectares). Over the 24 year period examined to 2020, the widespread use of GM insect resistant and herbicide tolerant seed technology has reduced pesticide application by 748.6 million kg (−7.2%) of active ingredient and, as a result, decreased the environmental impact associated with insecticide and herbicide use on these crops (as measured by the indicator, the Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ)) by a larger 17.3% between 19. The main technologies impacting on pesticide use have been crops modified to be tolerant to specific herbicides so as to facilitate improved weed control and crops resistant to a range of crop insect pests that otherwise damage crops or typically require the application of insecticides to control them. This paper assesses the environmental impacts associated with changes in pesticide use with GM crops at a global level. ![]()
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