1.

Background of Herbicide tolerant crops

Herbicide tolerant crops are designed to tolerate specific broad-spectrum herbicides, which kill the
surrounding weeds, but leave the cultivated crop intact. Herbicide tolerant plants are plants whose
growth and development are not significantly affected by herbicides used on the weeds growing around
them. Farmers use a number of these plants. All plants have a natural ability to tolerate some specific
herbicides.

Glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops, commercially referred to as glyphosate-tolerant (GT), started the

revolution in crop biotechnology in 1996. Growers rapidly accepted GR crops whenever they became
available and made them the most rapidly adopted technology in agriculture history.

2. Controversies of Herbicide Tolerant Crops

Herbicide resistance

One of the main concerns about genetically engineered crops such as Roundup Ready crops is the
development of weeds and other plants that are also resistant to Roundup (glyphosate).

Seed Contamination

Another concern with genetically engineered crops, and Roundup Ready specifically, is seed
contamination.

Risk Assessment

A big concern about genetic engineering in general, and including Roundup Ready crops, is the fact that
scientists do not know what the true effect of these organisms is on the environment before releasing
them.

3. Debunking Myth in Herbicide Tolerant Crops

Myth: GMO crops require more herbicides and pesticides.

Fact. Herbicide resistant GMO crops allow farmers to spray certain herbicides to control weeds in the
crop without harming the crop. Herbicides used on these crops were chosen for this purpose because
they are less toxic to humans and animals. They are not very persistent in the environment, meaning
they breakdown into benign compounds relatively quickly.

Myth: Spraying herbicides eventually results in “super weeds.”

Reality: Most resistant weeds have no growth or fitness advantage, and weeds resistant to herbicides
with certain modes of action are sometimes less fit.

4. Advantages and Disadvantages

Benefits of Planting Herbicide-Tolerant Crops

The most commonly cited benefits to producers include:

• broader spectrum of weeds controlled

• reduced crop injury
 • reduced herbicide carry-over
• use of herbicides that are more environmentally
 friendly
• new mode of action for resistance management crop management flexibility and simplicity

Disadvantages of planting herbicide-tolerant crops

Scientists have added genes to crop plants that make them resistant to herbicides. Farmers can spray
the entire field with herbicide and only the weeds will die. This reduces the quantity of herbicide that
needs to be used. Potential disadvantages of this genetic modification include:

 the potential development of herbicide-resistant weeds

 loss of biodiversity as fewer weed species survive as a food and shelter source for animals
 Yield Performance
 Single Selection Pressure and Weed Resistance
 Shifts in Weed Species

5. Examples of Herbicide Tolerant Crops

Examples of GMO herbicide-tolerant crops include canola and soybean varieties or corn hybrids tolerant
to glyphosate and glufosinate herbicides. Examples of non-GMO herbicide-tolerant crops include
sulfonylurea-tolerant soybeans (STS) and Clearfield corn and wheat.

6. Application of Herbicide Tolerant Crops

This graph shows the timeline of glyphosate-based herbicide use on corn, cotton, and soybean in
response to the growing popularity of their GMO versions.

7. Ethical Considerations of Herbicide Tolerant Crops

The technical aspects of the release of HT crops require a logical guide to the ecological, environmental,
and biological effects the release might have in sustainable agroecosystems. The initial step should
include an assessment of the intrinsic qualities of the crop, the herbicide, and the resistance
mechanisms. The second step should include an assessment of effects associated with population
ecology, population genetics, environmental degradation, consumer health, and farm economic viability
due to the resistant crop-herbicide pair.