Comparison of genetically modified and conventionally derived herbicide tolerance in oilseed rape: A case study

摘要

Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) is animportant source of oils for industrial andfood processes. Agriculturally it is auseful break crop in cereal rotations butsuffers from competition from broad-leavedweeds that can be difficult to control. Toextend the range and efficacy of weedcontrol options, herbicide-tolerant oilseedrape cultivars have been developed throughboth conventional and transgenic geneticmodification processes. Here we compare thesuccess of these approaches and discuss theimplications of the new herbicide tolerancetraits in agricultural production ofoilseed rape. We conclude that the impactof HT traits on the agri-environment willbe dependent on the nature of the trait andthe management strategies under which it isemployed. We find no evidence that thetechnology used in the production of HTcultivars has any influence on theirperformance as crops. In fact transgenic HTcultivars are simpler to monitor foragricultural and environmental impact thanare conventional HT cultivars.