A genetically modified soy seed technology from Germany’s Bayer set to launch soon in Brazil has sparked concern from some farmers who worry that other crops could be impacted by dicamba, a herbicide the biotech product is designed to tolerate.
Widely used in the United States, dicamba has been described by farmers who have applied it as a volatile product that drifts off easily. As such, it may compromise non-tolerant soybeans, growers told Reuters.
“When dicamba lands on plants that haven’t been designed to resist it, those plants struggle,” said Cayron Giacomelli, a farmer and agronomist. “Dicamba is highly harmful to materials other than Xtend,” Giacomelli said.
Bayer makes the “INTACTA 2 XTEND” seed technology, which allows the genetically modified soybeans to be treated with dicamba without being harmed. Dicamba is used to control broadleaf weeds in grain crops, according to Cornell University.
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Bayer is planning to launch Xtend in Brazil in the 2021/2022 crop cycle. It said on [September 30] that Xtend combines biotechnology with new crop protection tools to boost farmer yields “to a new level.”
Read full, original article: Brazil grain growers wary of dicamba as Bayer launches new GM soy seed
