St. Louis, Missouri
June 4, 2007
Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) announced today that the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved a natural refuge
option for its Bollgard II insect-protected cotton planted from
Texas east, excluding some Texas counties. Now cotton producers
in these eligible regions can take advantage of non-cotton crops
and other plants as a refuge for certain pests and will not be
required to plant a non-Bt cotton refuge for Bollgard II cotton.
A structured, non-Bt cotton refuge continues to be required as
part of an insect resistance management (IRM) program for
Bollgard cotton in all states, and for Bollgard II cotton
planted outside eligible areas.
"This is great news for U.S. cotton producers in eligible
regions who choose to plant Bollgard II cotton," said Walt
Mullins, Monsanto technology development manager. "It allows
them to simplify their pest control program by using advanced
cotton technology with the built-in IRM mechanism of two
effective Bt genes. Bollgard II cotton also provides the most
effective built-in worm control technology available for most
leaf- and boll-feeding worm species."
The ability for cotton growers in eligible regions to plant
Bollgard II cotton without a non-Bt cotton refuge should enable
increased cotton lint yields by eliminating the yield losses
associated with planting non-Bt cotton refuge acres.
Bollgard II cotton is the second generation of insect-protected
cotton developed by Monsanto; it produces two different
insect-control proteins compared with the single insect-control
protein in its predecessor, Bollgard cotton. Bollgard II cotton
produces both the Cry2Ab2 and Cry1Ac proteins.
Each protein provides control of cotton bollworm and tobacco
budworm, which gives Bollgard II cotton dual efficacy for both
pests. The two-protein system also increases the durability of
cotton varieties against the development of insect resistance
compared with the single-protein Bollgard cotton product.
Monsanto requested a natural refuge for Bollgard II cotton after
collecting extensive scientific data to show that a sufficient
number of cotton bollworms and tobacco budworms-key insect pests
that are controlled by Bollgard II cotton-are present on
non-cotton crops and other plants. The natural presence of these
pests outside of cotton, combined with the dual efficacy of
Bollgard II cotton, greatly reduces the chance that these pests
will develop resistance to Bollgard II cotton.
Eligible regions
The natural refuge option applies to Bollgard II cotton planted
in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas (excluding
the following counties: Brewster, Crane, Crockett, Culberson, El
Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, Loving, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves,
Terrell, Val Verde, Ward, and Winkler), and Virginia. States and
counties where the natural refuge option is not available are
areas where pink bollworm is a significant pest. Data submitted
to EPA by Monsanto supported a natural refuge option in areas
where cotton bollworm and tobacco budworm are the primary worm
pests for cotton.
It is important to note that the EPA previously established
prohibitions on the planting of Bt cotton in the Texas Panhandle
counties of Carson, Dallam, Hansford, Hartley, Hutchinson,
Lipscomb, Moore, Ochiltree, Roberts and Sherman as well as south
of Highway 60 in Florida. These restrictions do not change with
the approval of natural refuge for Bollgard II cotton.
Additionally, cotton producers who plant Bollgard cotton must
continue to plant a structured refuge of five percent unsprayed
or 20 percent sprayed
non- Bt cotton as required by IRM rules and specified in their
technology use agreements. Similarly, cotton producers who plant
Bollgard II cotton outside of regions eligible for the natural
refuge option, must also plant a non Bt cotton refuge. Failure
to comply with these requirements can result in the loss of
access to the technology.
Cotton farmers first planted Bollgard cotton in 1996. Bollgard
II cotton varieties have been on the market since 2003. Monsanto
licenses both traits to cottonseed companies to use in leading
cotton varieties. The cottonseed industry is in the process of
transitioning cottonseed varieties to Bollgard II cotton
technology. The process will be completed by the 2010 season,
since the EPA registration for Bollgard cotton expires after the
2009 cotton-growing season.
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of
technology-based solutions and agricultural products that
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