20
www.FarmProgress.com ■ April 2012
Ohio Farmer
Crops
Give crop pests run for their money
Breeder’s
C
Journal
AN we really win the war against
diseases, insects and weeds? If winning means eliminating them, it’s an
illusion. If winning means keeping them in
check so we can grow crops successfully,
the answer is “Yes, we can!”
We control most pests and raise crop
yields every year. But we’ll have to accelerate the rate of yield increments to keep
pace with population growth. Population
By DAVE NANDA
grows as a geometric progression, while
crop yields make only additive gains.
We’ve talked before about how pests
This fungicide
is so effective,
it can even
control worry.
Headline AMP™ fungicide helps corn growers close the yield
gap, allowing them to reap more of what they sow. By adding
adapt. Here are steps that could help slow
down victories for pests and help alleviate
potential food shortages.
■ Respect Mother Nature. We shouldn’t
try to drastically change the delicate balance of nature too quickly, forcing a pest
into a corner. Don’t try to eliminate a species. Preservation of the “wild” species is
important. Otherwise, new mutants may
become worse than the present pest. We
must think about the consequences before
we introduce new genetic traits and new
species from another geography that may
threaten the existence of certain species.
■ Anticipate future consequences.
When introducing new traits, U.S. EPA and
USDA should pay more attention to what
happens if that trait becomes dominant.
Examples are the use of glyphosate on millions of acres and the use of a single genetic
trait to control rootworm on many corn
acres. It’s those agencies’ responsibility to
be more vigilant in approving traits. Private
companies and farmers also share the responsibility. No one should dominate the
marketplace with any attribute that may
threaten the existence of other species.
■ Use multiple modes of action.
Different modes of action should be used
simultaneously for killing diseases, insects
or weeds. There should be incentives to
encourage simultaneous use of genetic
traits and insecticides.
■ Use polygenic traits. We should encourage use of polygenic traits. The single,
dominant monogenic HT trait for controlling northern corn leaf blight was quickly
overcome, but inbred lines and hybrids
carrying polygenic traits still flourish.
Likewise, the use of glyphosate on all acres
of corn and soybeans on any farm should
not have been allowed. It’s a monogenic
trait controlled by one gene.
■ Respect the refuge. The refuge-acres
concept hasn’t been fully respected by
farmers and is not well monitored. Also,
some scientists feel a 5% refuge may not be
sufficient, even if two genes are involved.
Some were surprised that EPA so quickly
passed the use of only 5% refuge in refugein-a-bag situations.
■ Balance resources. About 20 years
ago, most resources for plant breeding
were diverted to bioengineering. We
need to swing back to a balance and must
devote more resources at universities on
training more plant breeders. We need to
make greater gains in genetic platforms
before putting in bells and whistles.
■ Get back to the basics. Remember cultural practices that work, including crop
rotation and cover crops. We need to work
toward long-term victory in the war against
pests that threaten food production rather
than settling for short-term fixes.
Nanda is an independent crops consultant based in Indianapolis and director of
genetics and technology for Seed Consultants
Inc. Email him at Nanda@seedconsultants.
com, or call 317-910-9876.
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