South Africa
May 11, 2010
Research conducted during the past season, 2009/10, by representatives and agronomists of Monsanto into pollination variations in the GM stacked gene DKC78-45BR proved beyond doubt that the variation problem experienced during the 2008/09 season was not a GM problem but a genetic deviation that occurred when the parent lines were reversed. The problem has been solved and seed of the DKC78-45BR, one of the most popular cultivars on the market, will again be available for the 2010/2011 season.
Two representatives of Grain SA, invited by Monsanto to view the trials, reported that they had taken note of the steps taken by Monsanto to solve the problem encountered with pollination variation, and that they were satisfied that the problem had now been rectified.
Mr Pottie Potgieter, a Bothaville maize producer and member of the executive committee of Grain SA as well as chairman of the organisation’s production-input working group, says the trials were conducted with transparency and credibility and confirm the original explanation that the pollination variation was due to a fault in the breeding of the seed.
“As a producer, I am delighted and thankful that pollination of the maize is back to normal. The maize cultivar is one of the most popular. At the outset, I was involved with the research conducted into the problem. Although I experienced very little damage, my neighbour suffered a loss of 60 percent. Farmers were fully satisfied with the settlement package offered by Monsanto. I am pleased that the cultivar involved will again be available in the coming season and I will definitely include it in some of my plantings,” Potgieter emphasized.
Mr Corné Louw, senior agricultural economist, input, of Grain SA, says the trials confirmed unequivocally the original explanation of Grain SA when the problem emerged, that the pollination variation was not a GM problem but a breeding problem. “This must be emphasized,” he added.
During the 2008/09 season, pollination variations occurred on the three Roundup Ready cultivars, as well as on the stacked gene DKC78-45BR, mainly in the western grain-producing region of the country. The accompanying presence of yellow kernels also indicated a low presence of pollen. Wide speculation occurred on the possible causes, which ranged, among others, from the prevailing climate to the GM technology.
Fifty side-by-side block trials, with the new GM stacked gene DKC78-45BR maize of Monsanto and the old seed, were planted to establish the cause of the pollination variations that occurred during the 2008/09 season. The four healthy cobs on the left are from the new seed. On the right are four sparsely-filled cobs from the old seed, where the reversal of the male and female parents caused the pollination variations.
The problem, however, was attributed to reversing of the parent lines during the production of the hybrid seed.
Continued testing of the cultivars showed that the variation was caused by a cytoplasmic genetic characteristic known as Cytoplasmic Male Sterility (CMS). It causes reduced development of pollen and pollen sterility. After the problem had been identified, Monsanto awarded 100% compensation of the expected losses in yield sustained by farmers. The total compensation amounted to over R200 million.
At the production of the new 2009/10 Roundup Ready cultivars, the two parent lines were reversed back again. Then 50 side-by-side block trials in different districts of the western grain-producing region were planted with the corrected DKC78-45BR without the CMS and the old DKC78-45BR.
Preliminary pollination valuations differed like night and day. The average weighted visible cob cover of the cultivar without CMS was 99.9% compared with 94.6% of the old cultivar with CMS. The difference statistically was significant.
There was also a difference in the presence of yellow kernels per cob in the two productions of the cultivar. Those with CMS yielded an average of 1.37% yellow kernels per cob while those without CMS averaged 0.04%. All the cobs of the non-CMS cultivar were fully pollinated.
“There is every indication, from the preliminary pollination data produced by the trials, that the problem of pollination variation was solved with the reversal of the parent lines during the production of the hybrid seed. The production of the new DKC78-45BR without CMS has exhibited no sign of pollination variation. The seed which will be available during the coming season has been produced by reversing back the parent lines, as was done in the trials, and will therefore not contain any CMS,” explains Mr Pieter Smit, agriculturist and technology development representative of Monsanto, who was in charge of the trials.
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