GM COTTON CROPS COULD CUT PESTICIDE USE BY 75PCT.

AsiaPulse News, July, 2003

CANBERRA, July 31 Asia Pulse - Australia's cotton farmers could cut their pesticide use by 75 per cent by using genetically modified crop techniques, according to an industry group.

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority today approved the use of Bollgard II cotton, a GM cotton that has two altered genes to protect it against the helicoverpa moth.

Around 30 per cent of the nation's cotton crop is already genetically modified, with one gene altered to make it resistant to the moth.

But CSIRO Plant Industry cotton breeder Greg Constable said Bollgard II could ultimately replace all other cotton varieties including the current GM variety, Ingard.

"Three years of field trials show that Bollgard II is even better than...