Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52NOVEMBER 2016 43 address the issue of procure- ment so that research may not be unnecessarily delayed. Source: International Service for the Acquisition of Agri- biotech Applications. STATUSTanzania TANZANIA PLANTED its first genetically modified maize research trials Oct. 5 under an initiative that is building a new model for advancing agricultural innovation through public- private partnerships. The confined field trial, a pre- cursor to commercialization, will demonstrate the effectiveness and safety of a drought-tolerant GM maize hybrid developed by the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) project. “It’s important that we develop drought-tolerant varieties to ensure food security,” says Kingstone Mashingaidze, a scientist with the National Agricultural Research Council of South Africa. Under a royalty-free licensing agreement, seed companies in Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda are growing and selling drought- tolerant maize hybrids developed by WEMA to suit local conditions and branded as DroughtTEGOTM. Mozambique will introduce the TEGO brand seeds this year. The WEMA project has received commercial release approvals for more than 60 TEGO conventional hybrids across the five countries. The TEGO hybrids caught on quickly as farmers growing the less-productive open- pollinated varieties saw their hybrid-cultivating neighbours reaping bigger harvests. Seed companies in South Africa, which have a longer history with GM crops, were the first to take advantage of the royalty-free GM licensing agreement. They will begin selling royalty-free transgenic maize seeds with drought- tolerant and insect-resistant traits this year. Kenya is expected to follow in 2017. Mozambique has approved field trials for drought-tolerant GM maize, which will begin either this planting season or next, pending issuance of a seed import permit. Uganda has conducted numerous successful field trials, but since it lacks a national biosafety law, it has been unable to commercialize GM seeds for sale to farmers. That leaves Tanzania, which planted its first GM research crop — a drought-tolerant white maize. Pending the results, trials of an insect- resistant variety could begin next year. Source: Cornell Alliance for Science. STATUSUSA A GROUP OF Extension entomologists from the Great Lakes region sent an open letter to the seed industry about the efficacy of Cry1F (Herculex 1, TC1507) trait on western bean cutworm (WBC). The entomologists urged seed companies to remove the designation of “control” for this pest with regard to this toxin. In the letter, the scientists explain the evolution of the WBC and how the Cry1F trait was put to the test. “The rapid eastward range expansion of WBC across the central Corn Belt into the Great Lakes Region resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of WBC-infested acres in a short time period,” they wrote. “This created a large-scale ‘efficacy test’ of Cry1F hybrids to … ‘provide highly efficacious control of key Lepidopteran pests,’ ‘reduce the use of more toxic chemical insecticides’ and ‘reduce levels of mycotoxin in corn.’ In all these regards, Cry1F has failed ...” The letter asks companies to acknowledge these events and reclassify Cry1F in hybrid fact sheets, technical use agreements and other educa- tional materials — before growers make their 2017 seed choices. Source: Purdue University.