Assessing the effects of cultivating genetically modified glyphosate-tolerant varieties of soybeans (Glycine max(L.) Merr.) on populations of field arthropods

Abstract

We assessed the effects of cultivating two genetically modified (GM) glyphosate-tolerant soybean varieties (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) derived from Event 40-3-2 and a Japanese conventional variety on arthropods under field conditions, with weed control using glyphosate and conventional weed control for two years. Plant height and dry weight of the conventional variety were significantly larger than those of the GM varieties, but the GM varieties bore more pods than the conventional variety. We found arthropods of nine taxonomic orders (Araneae, Acari, Thysanoptera, Homoptera, Heteroptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera) on the plants. The arthropod incidence (number per plant unit weight pooled for each taxonomic order) on the soybean stems and leaves generally did not differ significantly between the GM and conventional varieties. However, the incidence of Thysanoptera and total incidence (all orders combined) were greater on the GM variety in the second year. The weed control regimes had no significant influence on the arthropod incidence on the soybean stems and leaves. The number of flower-inhabiting Thysanoptera (the dominant arthropod in the flowers) was not significantly different between the GM and conventional varieties. Asphondylia yushimai (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae) was more numerous on the pods of the GM variety in both years. Neither the soybean variety nor the weed control regime significantly affected the density of soil macro-organisms. However, the glyphosate weed control affected arthropods between the rows of plants by decreasing the abundances of Homoptera, Heteroptera, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera, and diversity of arthropods.

Scientific Opinion on an application (EFSA‐GMO‐NL‐2005‐24) for the placing on the market of the herbicide tolerant genetically modified soybean 40‐3‐2 for cultivation under Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 from Monsanto

“…With the exception of the monitoring study conducted by Badea et al (2006), the EFSA GMO Panel is not aware of any scientific studies having considered the impact of GMHT soybean systems and their associated herbicide regimes on farmland biodiversity under European environmental conditions. Several studies, however, have assessed the impact of glyphosate-based herbicide regimes used in GMHT soybean in Argentina (Tuesca et al, 2001;Vitta et al, 2004;De la Fuente et al, 2006;Scursoni et al, 2007;Scursoni and Satorre, 2010), Canada (Simard et al, 2011), Japan (Imura et al, 2010) and the USA (Buckelew et al 2000;Bitzer et al, 2002;Jasinski et al, 2003;McPherson et al, 2003;Jackson and Pitre, 2004b,c;Scursoni et al, 2006). In the EU, research projects such as: the project on Botanical and Rotational Implications of Genetically modified Herbicide Tolerance in winter oilseed rape and sugar beet (BRIGHT) (Sweet et al, 2004;Lutman et al, 2008); the Farm Scale Evaluations (FSEs) (Firbank et al, 2003a,b) in the United Kingdom; and the study of the National Environmental Research Institute (NERI) in Denmark (e.g., Strandberg and Pedersen, 2002) have considered the impact of more general GMHT cropping systems and their associated herbicide regimes on farmland biodiversity.…”

Non-target Effects of Hyperthermostable α-Amylase Transgenic Nicotiana tabacum in the Laboratory and the Field

“…A great deal of the literature on the non-target effects of transgenic plants focuses on B.t. insecticidal proteins in various crops (Han et al, 2016) and those that have examined the impact of herbicide-tolerant crops on arthropods (Imura et al, 2010). In the latter case, the impact of GM plants was assessed from the perspective of how the plants and their new cropping practices affect the ecosystem of the field versus that of conventional cropping system.…”

“…As more acreage is planted with transgenic crops there will be further interaction of these plants with insects creating new environmental and pest management concerns. The amount of acreage growing transgenic crops increased a 100-fold over the decade between 1996 and 2006, and made up 134 MHa in 25 countries by 2009 (Ahmad et al, 2012), with GM soybeans grown on one of the largest cultivated areas (Imura et al, 2010). A major emphasis of genetic engineering has been to improve crop yield by overcoming abiotic stresses, for example heavy metals, salt, cold and drought.…”

Temporal expression of the sor1 gene and inhibitory effects of Sorghum bicolor L. Moench on three weed species

“…In contrast, the current techniques, which are based on the use of biotechnology-derived herbicide-resistant crops, have contributed to minimizing the use of herbicides, thereby providing greater crop protection and productivity (Parker et al 2005;Correia & Durigan 2007;Imura et al 2011). However, the management of such crops can still require the use of chemical herbicides.…”