We develop and estimate a discrete-choice model of differentiated products for the corn and soybean seed industry in the United States to assess the welfare impact of genetically engineered (GE) crop varieties. We use a unique dataset, spanning the period 1996-2011, that contains rich information on the adoption of GE traits. Using a two-level nested logit model, we estimate that U.S. farmers a...

Glyphosate (see Figure 1) herbicides are “among the world’s most widely used herbicides.”1 and glyphosate is “the world’s leading agrochemical.”2 Although glyphosate herbicides have been popular since they were first marketed in 1974, their use in agriculture has expanded recently with the increased use of crops that have been genetically modified to tolerate glyphosate treatment.3 Roundup is a...

Emergence of glyphosate-resistant horseweed (Conyza canadensis) biotypes is an example of how unrelenting use of a single mode of action herbicide in agricultural weed control drives genetic adaptation in targeted species. While in other weeds glyphosate resistance arose from target site mutation or target gene amplification, the resistance mechanism in horseweed uses neither of these, being in...

BACKGROUND A simulation model is used to explore the influence of biological, ecological, genetic and operational (management) factors on the probability and rate of glyphosate resistance in model weed species. RESULTS Glyphosate use for weed control prior to crop emergence is associated with low risks of resistance. These low risks can be further reduced by applying glyphosate in sequence wi...

The herbicide glyphosate inhibits the shikimate pathway of the synthesis of amino acids such as phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan. However, much uncertainty remains concerning precisely how glyphosate kills plants or affects cellular redox homeostasis and related processes in glyphosate-sensitive and glyphosate-resistant crop plants. To address this issue, we performed an integrated study...

The potential impact of transgene escape on the environment and food safety is a major concern to the scientists and public. This work aimed to assess the effect of intein-mediated gene splitting on containment of transgene flow. Two fusion genes, EPSPSn-In and Ic-EPSPSc, were constructed and integrated into N. tabacum, using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation. EPSPSn-In encodes ...

Glyphosate (N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is an active ingredient of the most widely used herbicide formulations in protecting agricultural and horticultural crops. Numerous results (mostly published in the years 2010-2013) concerning the action of glyphosate and its formulations in the recent decade were analyzed. Initial reports about alleged biodegradability of glyphosate in the environment tu...

Glyphosate is worldwide the most used herbicide because it is an efficient weed killer with favorable environmental and toxicological properties such as very low human and animal toxicity. Chemically, glyphosate is a phosphonate, i.e. it resembles phosphate. Consequently, glyphosate is strongly sorbed by the same soil minerals as phosphate, especially aluminium and iron oxides, allophane/imogol...

Since its commercial introduction in 1974, glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] has become the dominant herbicide worldwide. There are several reasons for its success. Glyphosate is a highly effective broad-spectrum herbicide, yet it is very toxicologically and environmentally safe. Glyphosate translocates well, and its action is slow enough to take advantage of this. Glyphosate is the only ...

Glyphosate use in the United Kingdom has more than doubled in the last 20 years. Much of this increase is driven by efforts to control herbicide resistant weeds, particularly Alopecurus myosuroides, prior to crop drilling. There is precedent for evolution of glyphosate resistance in similar situations, raising concerns over the sustainability of glyphosate use in the UK. We used dose-response e...