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As high temperatures continue to scorch large swaths of the USA, tiny plots
of corn and soybeans around the country are growing green and strong while
their neighbours shrivel up and die, July 2005 by Elizabeth Weise.

Through what some describe as the wonder and others the scourge of
biotechnology, the plants carry a trait that has long been the Holy Grail of
crop breeders: drought resistance.

The world's two largest seed producers, Pioneer Hi-Bred International and
Monsanto, both have drought-tolerant corn and soybeans growing in test
plots. Corn is furthest along, perhaps five to six years from commercial
release.

"Under severe drought conditions we were able to see 20% yield improvement
with those plants with the drought gene," Monsanto's Robert Fraley says.

Both companies are experimenting with using bio-engineering to put
drought-tolerance genes from other plants and microbes into corn and soy.

For areas where farmers use irrigation to grow crops, the drought-tolerant
trait would allow them to lower their water usage and cut costs, Fraley
says.

But the technology is problematic, says Michael Hansen of the Consumer
Policy Institute. "A genome is like an ecosystem. When you introduce new
things, it can have not so much of an impact or (it can have) a catastrophic
impact," he says. "Scientists have no control over where the genes go, which
can cause all sorts of disruption."

The plants still must face years of testing and regulatory studies, plus
review by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug
Administration and the Department of Agriculture.

[www.usatoday.com]

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