Extension specialists from several North Central states recently proposed a new approach to expedite and facilitate evaluation of new genetically modified organism (GMO) hybrids through multi-state testing. As an example of this approach, newly released GMO glyphosate tolerant (GT) corn hybrids were evaluated at multiple locations across five states in 1999 and nine states in 2001. This cooperative testing effort demonstrated that powerful sets of data across a range of production environments could be generated with a minimal amount of input and resource allocation for the individual states

Elmore, Roger W

Lauer, Joseph G

Roth, Greg W

Thomison, Peter R

English

Clemson University: TigerPrints

The Journal of Extension Volume 42 Number 4 Article 22 8-1-2004 A Model for Testing New Seed Technologies Peter R. Thomison The Ohio State University, thomison.1@osu.edu Roger W. Elmore University of Nebraska, relmore1@unl.edu Greg W. Roth Pennsylvania State University, gwr@psu.edu Joseph G. Lauer University of Wisconsin- Extension, jglauer@wisc.edu This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Thomison, P. R., Elmore, R. W., Roth, G. W., & Lauer, J. G. (2004). A Model for Testing New Seed Technologies. The Journal of Extension, 42(4), Article 22. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol42/iss4/22 This Ideas at Work is brought to you for free and open access by the Conferences at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Journal of Extension by an authorized editor of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact kokeefe@clemson.edu. 	 JOEHOME JOURNAL GUIDELINES ABOUT	JOE CONTACT NATIONAL	JOB	BANKCurrent	Issues Back	IssuesAugust	2004	//	Volume	42	//	Number	4	//	Ideas	at	Work	//	4IAW50A	Model	for	Testing	New	Seed	TechnologiesAbstractExtension	specialists	from	several	North	Central	states	recently	proposed	a	new	approach	toexpedite	and	facilitate	evaluation	of	new	genetically	modified	organism	(GMO)	hybrids	throughmulti-state	testing.	As	an	example	of	this	approach,	newly	released	GMO	glyphosate	tolerant(GT)	corn	hybrids	were	evaluated	at	multiple	locations	across	five	states	in	1999	and	nine	statesin	2001.	This	cooperative	testing	effort	demonstrated	that	powerful	sets	of	data	across	a	rangeof	production	environments	could	be	generated	with	a	minimal	amount	of	input	and	resourceallocation	for	the	individual	states.	BackgroundNew	seed	technologies,	especially	those	involving	genetically	modified	organisms	(GMOs),	areoften	commercialized	and	marketed	to	grain	producers	in	the	U.S.	at	the	same	time	they	becomeavailable	to	public	researchers	for	evaluation.	This	rapid	commercialization	provides	limitedopportunity	for	public	researchers	to	conduct	field	trials	that	provide	objective	results	before	wide-scale	planting	begins.Although	entomologists	and	weed	scientists	at	some	land-grant	universities	evaluate	GMOs	prior	totheir	commercial	release,	these	investigations	are	limited	to	assessing	the	efficacy	of	these	newproducts	from	the	standpoint	of	insect	resistance	or	herbicide	tolerance.	Often	only	a	singleexperimental	hybrid	or	cultivar	representative	of	a	new	seed	technology	is	considered,	and	little	orno	information	on	yield	and	other	important	agronomic	information	(such	as	crop	maturity,	stalkquality,	and	disease	resistance)	is	collected.Peter	R.	ThomisonAssociate	Professor	and	Extension	Specialist,	Corn	Cropping	SystemsDepartment	of	Horticulture	and	Crop	ScienceThe	Ohio	State	UniversityColumbus,	Ohiothomison.1@osu.eduRoger	W.	ElmoreProfessor	and	Extension	Crops	SpecialistDepartment	of	Agronomy	and	HorticultureUniversity	of	NebraskaLincoln,	Nebraskarelmore1@unl.eduGreg	W.	RothProfessor	and	Extension	Crops	SpecialistDepartment	of	Crop	and	Soil	SciencesPennsylvania	State	UniversityUniversity	Park,	Pennsylvaniagwr@psu.eduJoseph	G.	LauerProfessor	and	Extension	SpecialistDepartment	of	AgronomyUniversity	of	Wisconsin-ExtensionMadison,	Wisconsinjglauer@wisc.eduMany	producers	are	adopting	GMO	hybrids	and	cultivars	to	reduce	yield	losses	caused	by	insects(e.g.,	Bt-corn	or	cotton)	or	obtain	more	effective	weed	control	(e.g.,	glyphosate	tolerant	orresistant	soybean,	corn,	or	cotton).	However,	some	farmers	perceive	that	insect-	and	herbicide-resistant	GMO	cultivars	and	hybrids	are	inherently	lower	yielding	than	their	conventionalcounterparts	due	to	yield	"drag"	or	"lag."	Growers	need	non-biased	information	on	whether	GMOssuppress	yield	potential	if	they	are	to	make	profitable	decisions	involving	cultivar	selection.Moreover,	producers	expect	university	Extension	programs	to	provide	such	information.Recent	studies	by	Elmore	et	al.	(2001;	2002)	provide	an	example	of	a	typical	evaluation	of	a	newGMO	crop.	To	test	the	agronomic	performance	of	recently	commercialized	glyphosate	resistantsoybean	cultivars,	five	glyphosate	resistant	(GR)	soybean	cultivars	were	compared	with	their	non-GR	counterparts	in	replicated	tests	conducted	at	four	Nebraska	locations	for	two	years.	This	studydemonstrated	the	lower	yield	potential	of	GR	soybeans	compared	to	non-GR	counterparts.	Arelated	study	compared	the	response	of	twelve	GR	soybean	cultivars	to	glyphosate.However,	with	major	budget	cuts	and	downsizing	occurring	in	agricultural	programs	at	many	land-grant	universities	and	less	external	funding	available	from	public	and	private	sources	for	cropproduction	research,	it	has	become	difficult	to	conduct	such	comprehensive	evaluations	of	newGMO	seed	technologies.Development	of	a	New	Approach	for	Testing	GMO	CropsGiven	the	reduced	funding	available	for	testing	new	GMO	seed	technologies,	we	proposed	a	newapproach	for	testing	GMO	seed	technologies	and	an	alternative	to	in-state	multi-locationevaluations.	The	objective	of	this	new	approach	was	to	develop	a	cooperative	crop	testingprocedure	that	could	produce	meaningful,	unbiased	data	on	new	GMO	crops	within	1	year	withoutfunding.Instead	of	conducting	multiple	tests	of	GMOs	within	a	state	for	2	or	more	years,	a	state	Extensionspecialist	would	establish	one	or	two	tests	comparing	a	set	of	GMOs	and	their	conventionalcounterparts,	which	would	be	common	to	all	locations.	To	minimize	costs,	planting,	and	harvesting,the	GMO	and	non-GMO	hybrid	plots	could	be	integrated	into	existing	state	crop	hybrid	testingprograms.In	1999	and	2001,	participating	states	used	this	approach	to	evaluate	the	agronomic	performanceof	newly	released	GMO	glyphosate-tolerant	(GT)	corn.	In	the	1999	study,	GT	hybrids	contained	theGA21	event	or	gene	insertion,	while	in	the	2001	study,	they	contained	the	NK603	gene	insertion.	In1999,	multi-state	testing	of	GT	hybrids	was	conducted	at	nine	locations	across	five	states	(NE,	MN,WI,	OH,	and	PA)	and	coordinated	by	a	Nebraska	Extension	specialist.	In	2001,	the	testing	wasperformed	at	12	locations	across	nine	states	(SD,	NE,	KS,	IA,	MO,	WI,	MI,	OH,	and	PA),	andcoordinated	by	an	Ohio	Extension	specialist.	The	testing	coordinators'	responsibilities	includeddistributing	seed,	planting	schemes,	and	data	collection	protocols.	Project	coordination	andcommunication	relied	primarily	on	e-mail.The	1999	and	2001	evaluation	indicated	the	following:Glyphosate	herbicide	had	no	effect	on	GT	corn	hybrids	(Elmore	et	al.,	2000).There	was	no	evidence	of	yield	suppression	associated	with	GT	corn	technology	(Elmore	et	al.,2000).Benefits	and	DrawbacksResults	of	the	cooperative	GT	corn	hybrid	tests	were	widely	disseminated	using	a	variety	ofExtension	information	delivery	mechanisms,	as	the	following	indicates	for	1999:44	meetings	with	a	total	of	2150	people	attending	(5	states),2	news	releases	(1	state),5	newsletter	articles	(3	states),Internet	postings	(2	states)	(	Elmore,	2000;	Roth,	2000),	and2	radio	tapes	(1	state).Collaborators	identified	the	following	as	some	of	the	major	benefits	of	this	approach	for	GMO	croptesting:Generated	a	powerful	set	of	data	for	a	range	of	production	environments	within	a	single	year,Required	a	minimal	amount	of	input	and	resource	allocation,	andProvided	unbiased	data	that	producers	could	use	to	address	a	practical	question.Although	all	the	collaborators	indicated	that	it	was	vital	to	continue	this	kind	of	cooperativeevaluation,	several	suggestions	were	offered	for	future	improvement:A	simpler	design	to	facilitate	analysis	of	the	study;High-yielding	non-GMO	checks;Additional	funding	(however	this	may	enhance	credibility	of	data	in	eyes	of	growers);A	shorter	turn-around	time	to	get	data	assembled,	analyzed,	and	released;A	need	to	discuss	data	dissemination	and	project	promotion	early	in	development	of	theproject;	andEstablishment	of	an	ad	hoc	committee	to	consider	and	coordinate	future	efforts.Topics	identified	for	future	collaborative	testing	included:Any	new	seed	based	technology	with	value	added	traits	(e.g.,	rootworm	resistance,	nutritionalenhancements),Non-traditional	crop	amendments,	andNew	seed	insecticide	treatments.ReferencesElmore,	R.	W.,	Roeth,	F.	W.,	Nelson,	L.	A.,	Shapiro,	C.	A.,	Klein,	R.	N.,	Knezevic,	S.	Z.,	&	Martin,	A.(2001).	Glyphosate-resistant	soybean	cultivar	yields	compared	with	sister	lines.	Agronomy	Journal93:408-412.Elmore,	R.	W.,	Roeth,	F.	W.,	Shapiro,	C.	A.,	Nelson,	L.	A.,	Martin,	A.,	Knezevic,	S.	Z.,	&	Klein,	R.	N.(2002).Yield	Suppressions	of	Glyphosate-Resistant	(Roundup	Ready)	Soybeans.	NebraskaCooperative	Extension	Bulletin	NF02-539.Elmore,	R.	W.,	Hicks,	D.	R.,	Hoverstadt,	T.,	Jordan,	D.,	Klein,	R.	N.,	Lauer,	J.	G.,	Loux,	M.,	Nelson,	L.A.,	Porter,	P.	M.,	Roth,	G.	W.,	&	Thomison,	P.	R.	(2000).	Comparison	of	Roundup	Ready®	hybridsand	conventional	sister	lines.	Corn	Management	Research	Report	No.	00-06,	Dept.	of	Agronomy,Pennsylvania	State	University.	Available	at:	http://cornandsoybeans.psu.edu/pdfs/CMRR00-06.pdfElmore,	R.	W.	(2000).	GMO,	non-GMO	hybrids	produce	similar	yields	in	side-by-side	trials.	CropWatch	News	Service,	Archives,	April	7,	2000.	University	of	Nebraska.	Available	through:http://cropwatch.unl.edu/Roth,	G.	A.	(2000).	Glyphosate	tolerant	hybrid	study.	Field	Crop	News,	Pennsylvania	StateUniversity.	00(2)	Available	at:	http://fcn.agronomy.psu.edu/FCN002.pdfCopyright	©	by	Extension	Journal,	Inc.	ISSN	1077-5315.	Articles	appearing	in	the	Journal	become	the	property	of	theJournal.	 Single	 copies	 of	 articles	may	 be	 reproduced	 in	 electronic	 or	 print	 form	 for	 use	 in	 educational	 or	 trainingactivities.	Inclusion	of	articles	in	other	publications,	electronic	sources,	or	systematic	large-scale	distribution	may	bedone	only	with	prior	electronic	or	written	permission	of	the	Journal	Editorial	Office,	joe-ed@joe.org.If	you	have	difficulties	viewing	or	printing	this	page,	please	contact	JOE	Technical	Support©	Copyright	by	Extension	Journal,	Inc.	ISSN	1077-5315.	Copyright	Policy

A Model for Testing New Seed Technologies

https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4860&context=joe

A Model for Testing New Seed Technologies

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Clemson University: TigerPrints