Bollgard Cotton - Achievements in Plant Biotechnology 1999

Bollgard insect-protected cotton, first commercialized in 1996, uses Bt technology similar to YieldGard corn to help provide growers with in-plant, season-long protection against tobacco budworm, bollworm and pink bollworm. Last year, Bollgard was sold commercially in the United States, Australia, Mexico, China, Argentina and South Africa.

Argentina
About 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of Bollgard cotton were planted in Argentina in the 1998/99 season, and, even though the trait was not yet available in the most appropriate varieties for this country, farmer satisfaction with the product was rated good to very good. Bollgard growers in Argentina enjoyed an average profit advantage of $49 per hectare as compared to conventional cotton. Bollgard increased yields by 10 to 15 percent over conventional cotton, and in some areas reached three times as much. It's projected that Argentinean farmers possibly could reduce their insecticide use by three million liters if Bollgard were available throughout the country.

Australia
Monsanto's insect-protected cotton is sold under the brand name INGARD in Australia, where farmers planted 75,000 hectares (185,325 acres) of the product in the 1998/99 growing season. Grower satisfaction with INGARD was high, and its use helped to reduce insecticide use in Australia by 44 percent as compared to conventional cotton.

China
As the world's second most populous developing county, China must increase its agricultural production on existing acres if it is to meet the demands of its people for food and fiber. In 1999, a survey of 2,500 growers in 25 countries revealed that Bollgard cotton provided them an average 25 percent yield advantage over conventional cotton - an increase worth $80 million in U.S. currency to China's farmers. In a single province, use of Bollgard also reduced the volume of chemical insecticides normally applied to conventional cotton by 850,000 liters.

Mexico
About 500 farmers in Mexico planted 17,368 hectares (42,916 acres) of Bollgard in 1999. The product helped provide all growers with excellent protection against insect pests. In fact, 1999 results indicate the use of Bollgard in Mexico helped to decrease overall insecticide applications in cotton by 38 percent, while it helped provide farmers with an average 12 percent yield increase over conventional varieties.

South Africa
South African farmers planted 62 percent more Bollgard cotton in 1999 than in 1998, and farmers here recorded yield increases of 7 to 21 percent for commercial growers and 60 percent for smaller scale farmers. Here, too, Bollgard is proving to be easy to use and profitable for large and small farmers alike - an important characteristic of biotechnology crops indicative of their benefit to developing countries.

United States
In 1999, US acres of Bollgard cotton rose from about 2.2 million in 1998 to about 3.7 million last year. Higher yield potential, greater profits and increased protection against insect damage continue to increase Bollgard's value for US cotton growers.

As part of Monsanto's environmental commitment, we continue to monitor Bollgard fields for insects resistance and have detected none. Insect Resistance Management (IRM) programs are in place and required by Monsanto and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Innovations
1999 marked additional field trials, under an Experimental Use Permit, of Bollgard II, a second generation product that features two different Bt genes in the same seed. This combination of genes may help further reduce the potential development of insect resistance. Field tests have shown Bollgard II provides improved control of fall armyworm, beet armyworm, cotton bollworm and soybean loopers. More than 200 field tests of Bollgard II are planned in the United States, Argentina and Australia.