Australia
November 13, 2007
A long-term trial has
demonstrated the potential yield and profit advantages
that a genetically modified (GM) canola variety offers
Australian grain growers, leading to a call to lift the
current moratorium on growing GM canola commercially in
Australia.
Conducted by
Charles Sturt
University’s (CSU) Professor Jim Pratley at the
EH Graham Centre
for Agricultural Innovation at Wagga Wagga, New
South Wales, the yield and economic performance of a GM
herbicide tolerant canola variety was compared with
conventional canola varieties over a typical five-year
crop rotation system. [see notes on the trial below for
details]
Professor Pratley believes
this is the first long-term crop system research
undertaken to evaluate GM herbicide tolerant canola in
crop rotations under Australian field conditions.
“GM herbicide tolerant
canola has been widely grown in Canada since 1996, and
made up 82 per cent, or 4.3 million hectares, of the
2005 crop. However, it has not been assessed in
long-term Australian conservation farming systems, until
now.”
“In the research
undertaken at CSU, Roundup Ready® canola consistently
delivered superior weed control, higher yields and oil
quality and better profits when compared to current
common canola varieties grown under conventional weed
management systems.
“Moreover, there was
better weed control throughout the five year crop
rotation using Roundup Ready canola in the first year of
the rotation, and any subsequent volunteer canola was
also easily controlled,” he said.
Professor
Pratley said the project was conducted under the strict
protocols and conditions applied by the national Office
of the Gene Technology Regulator to obtain local data on
the performance of the GM variety in Australia.
He said there is much to
be gained by allowing the commercial production of GM
canola.
“Repealing the current
moratoria will significantly advantage canola growers
and allow them to capture the efficiency and economic
benefits of technology that their Canadian competitors
have exploited for over ten years.”
In submitting the study to
the New South Wales, Victorian and South Australian
Government’s GM moratoria Review Panels, the CSU
researchers recommended, “the Government repeal the
current moratorium on the commercial scale growing of GM
canola, as a matter of priority.”
This view supports the
position of the broader grains industry published in the
document "Delivering
market choice with GM canola". Endorsed by 29
organisations representing all sectors of the grain supply
chain, the document outlines the processes and protocols by
which industry would manage GM canola if the State moratoria
are lifted.
RELATED DOCUMENTS:
The EH Graham Centre for
Agricultural Innovation is an alliance between run by CSU
and the NSW Department of Primary Industry.
Roundup Ready® is the
registered trademark of Monsanto Ltd.
BACKGROUND NOTES:
The experiment and associated observations
Trial commenced in 1999
with a comparison of three different canola weed
management systems using isogenic lines of canola:
1. Conventional
(non-herbicide tolerant) - cv Surpass 600
2. Triazine tolerant
(non-GM herbicide tolerant) - cv Surpass 600TT
3. Glyphosate tolerant (GM
herbicide tolerant) - cv N758, (Roundup Ready)
The first year’s canola
crop was followed by wheat (cv Diamondbird), then lupins
(cv Wonga), then wheat again (cv Diamondbird), then
canola in the fifth and final year.
All crops were sown and
managed according to best district practice and
carryover effects from Year 1 were monitored each year.
The performance of
glyphosate as a post emergent herbicide in the Roundup
Ready system was reflected positively in delivering the
highest gross margins over the 4 year cycle of the
rotation:
Average annual gross
margins per hectare over a four-year rotation for
different selective herbicide treatments imposed during
the first year of canola.
|
|
Canola weed
management system - Gross margin $/ha
|
|
Treatment
|
Conventional
|
Triazine tolerant
|
Roundup Ready
|
|
No herbicide
|
$206
|
$194
|
$219
|
|
Pre-emergent
herbicide only
|
$248
|
$370
|
$311
|
|
Post-emergent
herbicide only
|
$289
|
$271
|
$397
|
|
Pre- and
post-emergent herbicides
|
$321
|
$420
|
$427
|
|
Average (all treatments)
|
$267
|
$314
|
$338
|
Other observations
Professor Pratley noted
that the future production of canola in Australia is
dependant on the capability of farmers to provide
effective weed control to achieve an economic yield.
“Roundup Ready canola
provides another management option for farmers. It will
likely replace the Triazine Tolerant canola weed
management systems because of its superior weed control,
the genetically improved varieties within which the
Roundup Ready technology will be provided and the
overall improvement in the profit it is likely to
deliver to farmers.
“In addition, the Roundup
Ready system provides a new significant option for
farmers for controlling broadleaf and grass weeds by an
alternate mode of action to other selective herbicides.
“Glyphosate, the active
ingredient in Roundup, also provides a better
environmental alternative to the triazine herbicides,
which potentially have longer term residue
considerations.
“The total control of
volunteer plants was achieved without difficulty using
the Roundup system. During the trial, the alternative
herbicide Spray Seed, containing a mix of paraquat and
diquat, was used as a ‘knockdown’ spray in Years 2 and 3
to achieve this control,” he said.
