New Orleans, Louisiana
January 7, 2005
Source:
Reuters News via
Checkbiotech
Agricultural company
Monsanto said Thursday it
plans to launch the second generation of its transgenic cotton
seeds in 2006.
Mark Edge, cotton product manager
for Monsanto, told Reuters in an interview at the annual U.S.
Beltwide cotton conference its Roundup Ready Flex stacked with
the Bollgard II cotton seed should be available to U.S. farmers
in the 2006 growing season once it secures regulatory approval.
With Bollgard II, the seed is provided protection against a wide
variety of insects like cotton bollworm, fall armyworm, and pink
bollworm, among others.
The Roundup Ready Flex quality in the seed would increase its
tolerance for herbicides that kill weeds which compete with the
cotton plant, and increases the window of weed control for the
farmer, according to Monsanto officials.
Edge said that since the seed will be using existing technology,
he believes it is "less likely to run into problems" with
regulators in Washington.
"We're anticipating it'll be well accepted" by U.S. farmers, he
added.
Most U.S. cotton farmers have quickly adopted genetically
modified cotton seed to boost yields in their farms.
The Beltwide Cotton Conference is the biggest annual meeting of
the U.S. cotton industry, and features projections of supply and
demand trends for the coming season.
© Reuters 2005 |
