THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 1996 TAG: 9608140307
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY REID BARROW, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 77 lines
Soybeans in a test plot on Robert White Jr.'s farm are brown, withered and drooping while nearby beans stand erect and green.
In other test plots, some of White's field corn has developed red-to-brownish leaves while adjacent corn is thriving.
On Tuesday, farmers and seed dealers, primarily from southeastern Virginia and North Carolina, gathered at White's farm to learn about what made the difference. It's a development in biotechnology that could increase yields and make farming easier.
The healthy soybeans, known as Roundup Ready soybeans, are grown from seed that has been genetically engineered to resist the all-purpose herbicide Roundup. With Roundup, White was able to eliminate at one time most weeds in the test plots without harming the resistant beans. On the other hand, standard soybean hybrids nearby died in a few days after being sprayed.
Roundup, also used by homeowners, is considered a relatively safe product. Since it kills a broad spectrum of weeds, it eliminates the need for several applications of herbicides for specific plants.
The healthy corn, called Bt corn, was grown from seed that had the Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) gene incorporated into the plants' DNA. A naturally occurring bacteria, Bt kills the European corn borer, the corn ear worm and other caterpillars when they feast on corn with the Bt gene.
The corn plants whose leaves were turning brown are standard varieties of corn grown for comparison purposes. Although other problems can cause corn leaves to turn, White said, every stalk with dying leaves that he broke open in his test plots had a corn borer inside the stalk.
White produces seed for Northrup King Co., a national seed producer in Minnesota, which has been working since 1980 to develop its genetically engineered Bt corn. Northrup King is marketing Roundup Ready soybeans for Monsanto Co., developer of the herbicide-resistant beans.
White is the only farmer in South Hampton Roads to test the new seeds for Northrup King. He has planted 3 acres of soybeans and 25 acres of corn in test plots, alternating between two sections of new soybean or corn hybrids and one section of standard hybrids that have performed well in the past.
The plots can be seen on Princess Anne Road, south of the Sandbridge Road light. Numbered signs along that stretch of road identify each test plot.
Northrup King officials were in town Tuesday to introduce the new corn and soybeans to local farmers and seed dealers. Carroll E. Oakes of Grifton, N.C., an area agronomist for Northrup King, made the introductions under a tent overlooking White's corn and soybean fields.
The seeds were recently approved by the Environmental Protection Agency with certain restrictions to forestall Bt resistant insects, Oakes said, Seeds will be on the market in 1997.
For White, the biotechnology that allows scientists to manipulate plant genes is a real breakthrough, one of the most far-reaching changes he has seen in his 25 years of farming. In the past, when new seeds came on the market, they may have produced plants that were more able to resist insects or herbicides but none showed the dramatic results that gene-altered plants have.
``This is going to affect everything,'' White said. ``People don't realize how it's going to affect the way they farm.''
For example, White hopes the Bt corn will yield 10 to 15 bushels more corn per acre than other varieties. Because Roundup will kill almost any plant, White said, it can take care of weeds that are among the hardest to control.
Northrup King representatives also introduced corn hybrids that are resistant to a broad spectrum herbicide now used in Europe, which should be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency next year. And they discussed a patented process that allows farmers to raise the oil content of corn by as much as 3 percent, which among other things, increases the nutrition of the corn when used as animal feed.
The new developments will have an impact on local farmers, said Louis Cullipher, the city's agriculture department director.
``Virginia Beach farmers are always looking for innovative ways to be more productive if you can do it safely,'' he said. ``Ultimately you could have plants that are resistant to all diseases and insects.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MORT FRYMAN/The Virginian-Pilot
Robert White Jr. produces seed for Northrup King Co., a national
seed producer in Minnesota. by CNB