Super resistant & fast growing Genetically Modified to be tested

02 Jun '05

3 min read

New varieties of super resistant and fast growing genetically modified (GM) cotton will be tested in six Mpumalanga and Limpopo towns.

The field trials — near Groblersdal, Malelane, Marble Hall, White River and Schoemanskloof in Mpumalanga and Musina in Limpopo — will be the third carried out in South Africa by multinational agricultural biotechnology company, Monsanto.

Monsanto spokesperson Magda du Toit said on Tuesday the field trials are part of a larger programme to develop commercial grade cotton resistant to bollworms and tolerant to herbicides.

"We did some trials over the past two years and submitted all the information to the [South African] agriculture department for approval," said Du Toit.

She said Monsanto had already applied to the department to register intellectual ownership of the resulting super cotton after the trials are completed.

Du Toit said the research and seed production trials would cover between 0.3 to 30-hectares at each test site, and the fields would all be surrounded by 12m of non-GM cotton to prevent the GM plants from spreading.

Seeds resulting from the trials, she said, would be shipped to the United States (US).

Debate still rages over GM products

The fields will be thoroughly harvested to prevented the plants regrowing in the following cotton season, she added.

Genetically modified plants are still a matter of debate all over the world.

Somecountries, such as Zambia, do not allow GM crops or foods containing GM products because of either health concerns or due to fears that they will replace or eventually wipe out indigenous natural plants species.