Farmers in South Africa can now plant a new Bt cotton variety that has the stacked genes for insect and herbicide resistance. The official permit for Monsanto's new cotton will be issued by the Department of Agriculture this week in time for the 2005-06 planting season.

Tamar Kahn of Business Day quotes Wally Green, Monsanto's regional biotechnology regulatory manager, as saying that the crop is already being grown in the United States and Australia. The variety combines the features of its Bollgard cotton that resists bollworms, and Roundup Ready cotton that is resistant to the weed-killer glyphosate.

See the full article in http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/national.aspx?ID=BD4A103269

Source: CropBiotech Update