| | 07/November/22
| | Despite attempts at control measures, dicamba damage escalates Dicamba is a weedkiller used on GM dicamba-tolerant soybeans and cotton, which, however, drifts off-target and kills non-tolerant plants. Nearly 800 comments submitted to the US EPA on its dicamba ecological and human health risk assessments are split on the herbicide’s value to US agriculture. While some claim that reports of damage are overstated, many farmers and seed dealers say off-target damage is well documented and that it’s time for EPA to pull the registration or at least severely restrict its use. The EPA released its risk assessment in August, finding that despite restrictions on dicamba use required in 2021, EPA received nearly 3,500 incident reports about off-target damage during the growing season. “These incidents occurred even though EPA implemented new control measures in the 2020 registration decision and were reported by various stakeholders including states, academic researchers, media, impacted individuals, and companies,” EPA’s assessment said. The damage was reported to non-dicamba-tolerant soybeans and numerous other crops as well as a wide variety of non-target plants in non-crop areas, including residences, parks, and wildlife refuges. Agri-Pulse India: Chemical war on weeds going wrong In India, the use of glyphosate weedkiller is restricted to tea plantations and non-plantation areas accompanying the tea crop. Any use beyond this is illegal and a violation of the Insecticides Act 1968. But in reality, India has become a glyphosate using country. The chemical is widely used in non-tea-growing states. And according to a study conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), it is used on cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fruits, and vegetables. In Punjab, the farmers spray the herbicide on a standing crop of mung beans to facilitate drying for an early harvest. Deccan Herald India: The issues around genetically modified mustard (podcast) In a podcast, sustainable ag expert Kavitha Kuruganti speaks about GM mustard in India and the issues surrounding the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) approval. The podcast takes a detailed look at the history of GM mustard in India going back to 2002, the nature of the science behind the genetic manipulation involved, and examines claims that GM mustard is higher yielding than other options available to the Indian farmer. The Hindu When "good" gene edits go bad A lab at Rice University, Texas is leading the effort to reveal potential threats to the efficacy and safety of therapies based on CRISPR/Cas9, even when it appears to be working as planned. Bioengineer Gang Bao of Rice's George R. Brown School of Engineering and his team point out in a paper published in Science Advances that while off-target edits to DNA have long been a cause for concern, unseen changes that accompany on-target edits also need to be recognized — and quantified. Bao has been a strong proponent of CRISPR/Cas9 as a tool to treat sickle cell disease. But now the researchers fear that large deletions or other undetected changes due to gene editing could persist in stem cells as they divide and differentiate, thus have long-term implications for health. Phys.org We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible by readers’ donations. Please support our work with a one-off or regular donation. Thank you! __________________________________________________________ Website: http://www.gmwatch.org
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