GMO's - introduction of herbicide resistance gene (Jan/03/2010 )
Hallo all,
I have the following question: what is the main idea after the GMO's that have a resistance gene against some herbicide.
Is this simply so that they can use this herbicide to get rid of weeds and not kill the plant they are growing?
But how do they get rid of the weeds if there is no introduction of a resistance gene in the plant they are growing? I mean: I do not see the advantage of introducing such a gene in order to use a certain type of herbicide.
And after research (in USA and Canada) it is clear that because of the introduction of this types of genes the farmers are using more herbicides in stead of less... when growing this type of plants (GMO's)
Wich brings me to the following question: I do not understand or see why farmers would use less herbicide if they have a plant with a resistance gene in it.
any insights on this?
lucilius on Jan 3 2010, 07:38 PM said:
I have the following question: what is the main idea after the GMO's that have a resistance gene against some herbicide.
Is this simply so that they can use this herbicide to get rid of weeds and not kill the plant they are growing?
But how do they get rid of the weeds if there is no introduction of a resistance gene in the plant they are growing? I mean: I do not see the advantage of introducing such a gene in order to use a certain type of herbicide.
And after research (in USA and Canada) it is clear that because of the introduction of this types of genes the farmers are using more herbicides in stead of less... when growing this type of plants (GMO's)
Wich brings me to the following question: I do not understand or see why farmers would use less herbicide if they have a plant with a resistance gene in it.
any insights on this?
Actually this is the use: get rid of the weeds in a simple way, this means using a broad-spectrum herbicide (such as Roundup Ready) that knocks out all plants except the ones (the crop) having the resistance gene...and for the company it's useful that the farmer has to use their herbicide, because resistance gene and active component of the herbicide are connected. Therefore the farmer cannot switch to another brand then...
Other measures are mechanical removal of weeds (with its advantages and drawbacks) or other herbicides that usually not get rid of all weeds but only certain plant groups (e.g. monocotyledons)...
I see,
well that was also what I was thinking, however I couldnt understand the idea that when you have such plants you would need to use less herbicide.. it doenst make sence to me and the results now are indeed showing that it doenst mean you would use less herbicide.
Maybe they men: less different types of herbicides... but that doenst strike me as a huge advantage.
Some types of herbicides (and insecticides etc.) are more toxic/damaging to the environment than others. If you only need to use one type on your crops, it costs a lot less for the farmer(in theory), and there are less going into waterways and the soil, so less bio-accumulation.