June 4, 2007

Study: GM, non-GM crops grown too close can pollinate

Field trials could be underestimating the potential for cross-pollination between genetically modified and conventional crops, according to researchers from the University of Exeter in southern England, The Daily Telegraph reports Friday (Jun 1).

The team used records of wind speed and direction across Europe to predict the movement of pollen in the air. The findings showed huge variation in the amount of cross-pollination between GM and non-GM crops of corn, oilseed rape, rice and sugar beet.

"Recommended minimum distances between GM and conventional crops may need to be increased based on our findings," said Martin Hoyle, one of the researchers whose work was published in the journal Ecological Applications, the UK newspaper reports.