Turf researchers debate biotech buffer zones

Golf Course News, Jan 2002 by Joyner, Joel

RIVERDALE, Md. - It seems that anything genetically modified these days has the potential to become a controversy. When it comes to golf, the big question is whether or not there is such a thing as a safe buffer zone for open pollinated testing of genetically modified turfgrasses.

After the Supreme Court ruled in 1980 that genetically modified organisms (GMO) could be patented, commercial endeavors took off. By 1992, the U.S. government approved the first GMO product - a FlavrSavr tomato with a delayed ripening gene.

Today, two seed companies both researching transgenic creeping bentgrass, the Scotts Co. and Turf Seed, have a difference of opinion on what is a safe buffer zone.

APHIS REGULATIONS

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS), a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, regulates and issues permitting required for researching transgenic turfgrasses. These field experiments, as well as the new varieties they will help to bring to the market, are at the core of the controversy.

APHIS has established Minimum Land, Isolation, Field and Seed Standards for distances in feet from any contaminating source during open pollinated testing. Categories for Foundation, Registered and Certified seed distances are listed for control zones. In cross-pollinated grasses, minimum isolation distances range from 900 feet (with exceptions) for Foundation, 300 feet for Registered, and 165 feet for Certified seed.

"Mere has been some discussion on whether or not those distances should be increased," said john Turner, biotechnologist here at APHIS. "The field tests only need our required distances if they are trying to produce seed or studying seed yield. Most of the time, as they are testing for agronomic performance, they'll be mowing the grasses so the plants won't be flowering.

"There's no zero risk with any distance when you have an axiomatic curve that approaches zero," continued Turner, "but it will give you a very low level of gene flow into other crops."

THE SCOTTS CO.

Transgenic turfgrass research at the Scotts Co., headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, is currently focused on developing a Roundup Ready creeping bentgrass with an introduced CP4 gene. There are three things that must be proved to show that a GMO product is safe and market ready, according to the company's chief scientist Dr. Bob Harriman.

"The application process has a high degree of oversight,"he said. "First, we need to identify the species of plant. Does it have weediness issues or is it a species that we understand the biology of and has served the environment and humankind very well for a long time?

"Second, is the gene introduced safe? Is it a toxin or allergen?" asked Harriman. "Will it create something that will have people or animals get sick? Finally, what does the combination look like?The gene and plant may be safe individually, but the combination may not be."

The Scotts Co. initiated their program back in 1995, and have been field testing the Roundup Ready turfgrass since 1998. Last year alone, the company had over 50 test sites in place for the CP4 gene in more than two dozen states.

"We've chosen to use separation distances much greater in our guidelines as an additional precaution," Harriman said.

The company is currently in the heart of their testing program, according to the scientist. "We have a proud history of having a perfect compliance record in our testing with good stewardship measures in place," he said. "When we're ready to take a product to the superintendents, there will be an additional review required by APHIS."

BUSINESS CHALLENGES

With environmental safety measures in place, transgenic turfgrasses continue to gain acceptance in the industry, according to Wayne Horman, director of sales and marketing at the Scotts Co. "It's a sensitive issue," he said. "I think the controversy is not so much the science behind it but the business behind it.

"The people that are yelling and screaming the loudest are the ones that don't have the technology," said Horman, "but have the market share now of bentgrass. As far as a business plan, there's not one cast in stone right now. But our philosophy is that we'll probably broadly license this technology out."

Golf course superintendents often ask how Roundup Ready bentgrass will be eliminated, said Horman. "One of the key questions asked, pertaining to controlling bentgrass, is `Will I be able to remove this new variety?'" he said. "It's just one gene and one trait that's different.

"There are other products that can eliminate the plant. Finale would eliminate it, Vantage and Fusilade would eliminate it. I think that's the largest misconception in the marketplace today," said Horman.

No release will occur until the product has been thoroughly tested by APHIS, according to Horman. A tentative timeline for release is in the fall 2003.

TURF SEED, INC.

Bill Rose, president of Turf Seed, Inc. in Hubbard, Ore., would argue that there is no such thing, to date, as a safe control zone for testing open pollinated transgenic bentgrass. The company's research corporation, Pure Seed Testing, performed their own evaluation on GM pollen outflow in 2000 in order to establish their position.