Winnipeg, Manitoba
March 10, 2003
Monsanto Canada today
announced that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and
Health Canada have completed their safety reviews and granted
regulatory approval for YieldGard(R) Rootworm(TM) corn in Canada
- the first product designed to control the corn rootworm pest
using modern biotechnology.
Monsanto is committed to launching new products only after
regulatory approvals have been achieved to enable market access,
and after working with farmers to provide benefits both
commercially and environmentally.
Very limited seed supplies of YieldGard Rootworm corn will be
available to growers in Eastern Canada from DEKALB for 2003
planting. The limited supply for 2003 planting will be used
mostly for research and on-farm trials designed to evaluate the
benefits of the technology.
"We'll be working with growers to plant side-by-side trials
comparing a YieldGard Rootworm hybrid and its isoline treated
with a traditional insecticide," says Monsanto Canada seed
marketing manager Jamie Rickard. "These trials will show growers
that YieldGard Rootworm technology is an effective alternative
to traditional insecticides and helps ensure that a hybrid's
full yield potential is not reduced by corn rootworm infestation
in their fields."
Corn hybrids with YieldGard Rootworm technology contain a
protein from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a common soil microbe
that specifically targets corn rootworm larvae, allowing the
corn plant to protect its roots against the damaging effects of
corn rootworm.
"With the protection built into the seed, YieldGard Rootworm
corn controls a damaging corn pest while
significantly reducing the amount of insecticide required to
protect the crop. This is another milestone in the continued
growth of plant biotechnology," says Rob Hannam, product manager
for Monsanto Canada. YieldGard Rootworm corn joins Monsanto's
"YieldGard" family of insect-protected products for corn,
including YieldGard Corn Borer(TM). "We look forward to offering
growers stacked combinations of YieldGard products with
Monsanto's Roundup Ready(R) trait for weed control in the near
future," says Hannam.
YieldGard Rootworm corn has been shown to provide superior
season-long corn rootworm control and better consistency
compared to corn rootworm insecticides and seed treatments.
"YieldGard Rootworm technology works better regardless of
weather, time of planting or field conditions. It's easy to use,
requiring no extra equipment, no application handling hassles
and it also reduces exposure to corn rootworm insecticides,"
says Monsanto technology development representative Graham
McGregor.
A recent grower survey conducted
by Stratus Agri-Marketing Inc. shows that 11% of corn acres
planted in Eastern Canada are treated with a corn insecticide to
control corn rootworm. In rootworm infested fields, growers can
expect to see yield losses ranging from 10 to 15%.
YieldGard Rootworm corn has the potential to be an effective
alternative to traditional insecticides. In confined trials
conducted by Monsanto from 2000 to 2002, YieldGard Rootworm
hybrids demonstrated a nine-bushel yield advantage over the
untreated isoline and met or exceeded the yield of seed treated
with leading rootworm insecticides.
In order to ensure that YieldGard Rootworm technology remains an
effective management tool into the future, growers will be
required to implement insect resistance management (IRM)
practices to manage the occurrence of natural resistance by
target pests.
As part of the approval granted for food, feed and environmental
safety, CFIA requires an IRM program similar to those already in
use for earlier Bt products such as YieldGard Corn Borer corn.
For YieldGard Rootworm corn, CFIA requires growers to plant a
minimum 20% refuge of non-YieldGard Rootworm corn adjacent to or
within the YieldGard Rootworm cornfield. This IRM program is
consistent with recommendations from the Canadian Corn Pest
Coalition, an expert group composed of academics, researchers,
industry and government representatives.
Monsanto is a leading global provider of technology-based
solutions and agricultural products that improve farm
productivity and food quality.
Roundup Ready, YieldGard,
YieldGard Corn Borer and YieldGard Rootworm are trademarks of
Monsanto Technology LLC. Monsanto Canada Inc. licensee.
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