rf^G Monsanto puts hopeful spin on its cotton Even before the crop is completely picked, Monsanto is sounding upbeat about what the harvest will yield for its genetically engineered cotton. The company says its insect-resistant cotton is "providing economic and environmental benefits to cotton growers," despite severe insect infestation. In this—its first—growing season, Monsanto's transgenic cotton was planted on nearly 2 million acres. An unusually high number of bollworms have tested the cotton's ability to ward off insects. But despite warnings it made in July, Monsanto says the need for spraying pesticides has been limited. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) quickly proclaimed that the cotton flunks in the field." The Cambridge, Mass.-based group has called on the Environmental Protection Agency to suspend the cotton's registration and sales pending development of new pest management approaches that will prevent development of pest resistance. UCS believes the insect damage most likely is the result of the cotton failing to produce enough insecticidal protein to control targeted pests. Moderate rather than lethal doses, says UCS, will "tend to accelerate . . . the development of resistance" in the bollworms. Speculation that the development of resistance is somehow related to the need for spraying is, says Monsanto, "without any scientific basis, inconsistent with how insect populations develop resistance, and unsupported by leading experts in cotton entomology." Insect resistance, the company explains, tends to appear in specific geographical pockets over an extended period of time. Insect problems with its cotton involved "a variety of diverse areas that have required limited spraying across a broad geographical area." The effect also can be prevented by allowing resistant insects to mate with neighboring nonexposed populations. Still, to understand how bollworms survived in some transgenic cotton fields, Monsanto will analyze information relating to insects, weather patterns, planting times, geographical factors, cotton varieties, and surrounding crops. The process will take months to complete, says Monsanto, which will then share its findings. Ann Thayer
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