What herbicides and pesticides are used in the GMO process?

Expert response from Community Manager

Moderator for GMOAnswers.com

Friday, 08/23/2019 16:07

The most common types of GE crops are developed specifically for insect resistance or herbicide tolerance. By using herbicide-tolerant and pest-resistant GM crops, farmers can often use less toxic and fewer herbicides and pesticides than in other types of production systems. In fact, over the last 20 years, GMOs have reduced pesticide spraying by 8.1 percent. As a result, the environmental impact associated with pesticide use on biotech crops has decreased by more than 18 percent.

Insect resistant Bt (bacillus thuringiensis) crops have been genetically engineered to produce a protein that kills specific target insects – like the European Corn Borer – when they attack the plant. These proteins only affect specific receptors in the gut of certain target pests and are harmless to humans, mammals and most non-target insects. As a result, farmers are able to apply pesticides in a more targeted way to get rid of the insects that would otherwise damage their crops and decrease yield. Indiana farmer Brian Scott explains that by using Bt crops:

“We won't have to come in during the growing season to make a blanket pesticide treatment across the entire field.  This means a sprayer is kept out of the field -- meaning it didn't need fuel to power the sprayer or water to carry the chemical.  Fewer passes across a field also mean less soil compaction in the wheel tracks.  And don't forget I didn't buy any chemical or pay an application fee to a custom sprayer.  Because Bt targets specific pests, we are not spraying insecticide on the beneficial insects in our fields.”

Additionally, with farmers planting herbicide-tolerant crops, the volume of herbicides used in GM corn crops decreased by nearly 226.3 million kg from 1996 to 2015. The use of one herbicide, glyphosate, has increased as farmers sought to adopt herbicide tolerant crops and to use more benign chemicals on their farms. Although the use of one herbicide has increased, this has not led to an increase overall. Herbicide tolerant crops enable farmers to till — or turn over and break up the soil — less often. This has increased nutrient-rich organic matter up to 1,800 pounds per acre per year, which has numerous benefits, including better moisture retention, decreased erosion, and fewer greenhouse gas emissions.  

In a previous response, Lawson Mozley, who farms in Florida, provides a detailed look into how herbicide resistant GM crops which are resistant to the herbicide glyphosate help him use fewer and less toxic herbicides on his farm.

We hope this answers your question, if you have any other questions about GMOs or biotechnology, please ask!