China biggest GM capacity outside of US
China biggest GM capacity outside of US
CHINA is developing the largest GM cropping capacity outside North America, accounting for more than half the developing worlds expenditure on GM plants, a recent report in the journal Science suggests.
But whereas input traits like herbicide tolerance have so far dominated in industrialised countries, output traits such as yield increase and pest resistance are the main focus in China. That is mainly because Chinese GM research is funded by the state, not input suppliers, the report suggests.
Significant benefits are being realised, with insect tolerant GM cotton, for example, reducing total production costs by nearly a third, cutting spray use 13-fold and cutting organophosphate and organochlorine use by 80%.
More than a fifth of the Chinese cotton crop is now GM, equivalent to 700,000ha (1.7m acres). More than 50 other crop species are in GM trials, including wheat, potatoes and rapeseed. *