2004-10-4
This is Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Agriculture
Report.
Wind plays an important part in the reproduction of many crops.
In some cases, though, the effect can be surprising. A study
recently appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences. This study involved a genetically engineered kind of
grass.
Scientists found that pollen from the grass spread up to twenty
one kilometers to fertilize other grasses. This was true of plants
grown for the experiment. The scientists say they found similar
evidence of gene flow in wild plants up to fourteen kilometers away.
Earlier studies of genetically engineered plants had found
pollination at distances of one kilometer or less.
Scientists from the United States Environmental Protection Agency
led the new study in the state of Oregon. The team planted a kind of
grass engineered to resist RoundUp, a poison that kills weeds.
Two companies, Monsanto and Scotts, developed this kind of
creeping bentgrass for use on golf courses. Scotts also wants to
market the grass for home use. There are concerns that the
genetically engineered bentgrass could pass its chemical resistance
genes to wild grasses or weeds.
In Hawaii, some fruit growers face a similar issue that involves
papaya trees. These growers do not use chemicals or biotechnology.
But tests have found genetically engineered seeds in their papayas.
The organic growers say this is the result of pollen from
genetically engineered papaya trees on nearby farms. Those trees
were designed to resist a virus that was destroying Hawaii's papaya
crop.
Now, the industry has come back to life. But the New York Times
told how one organic grower reacted after tests showed that some of
his fruit contained the genetically engineered seeds. He cut down
all one hundred seventy of his trees. He has planted new ones,
although the same thing could happen again.
Some plant scientists say farmers should not worry too much about
problems from so-called genetic pollution. They say plants do not
easily pass genetic qualities to other organisms in the wild. They
say this is especially true of a single quality, like resistance to
chemicals.
Still, the age-old spread of pollen in the wind is a modern issue
in the debate over biotechnology.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario
Ritter. This is Gwen Outen.