Containment of GM Cotton in Australia

A series of experiments indicated that there is a higher rate of gene flow between GM and conventional cotton in northern Australia than in other regions of the country. This is due to higher pollinator numbers in the northern tropical region, said researchers from the CSIRO Plant Industry and the Cotton Seed Distributors Ltd. Cotton is primarily an inbreeding plant, but cross-pollination can occur due to insect activity.

The researchers reported the effectiveness of buffer zones and isolation distances in reducing the potential flow of transgenes in pollen to nearby cotton crops. Their experiment looked at several insect and herbicide resistant cotton varieties in government and commercial farms. They concluded that gene flow observed in cotton is almost consistent with all other pollen dispersal studies in plants - there is a high rate of gene flow over short distances and it becomes stochastic over long distances.

The paper published in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment can be accessed by subscribers at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2006.11.019.