EPA Extends Registration For Monsanto's Yieldgard Rootworm And Yieldgard Plus Insect-Protected Corn Technologies

02-Aug-2006

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extended the registration of two YieldGard insect-protected corn technologies developed by Monsanto Company. The registration for YieldGard Rootworm insect-protected corn technology (event MON 863) has been extended through the 2010 growing season and the registration for YieldGard Plus (event MON 863 x MON 810) has been extended through the 2008 growing season.

YieldGard Rootworm corn contains a protein from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a common soil microbe that specifically targets corn rootworm larvae, allowing the corn plant to naturally protect its roots against the damaging corn rootworm. The corn rootworm has earned the nickname the "billion-dollar bug" as the USDA estimates that this pest causes $1 billion in lost revenue annually to the U.S. corn crop.

Corn growers first planted Monsanto's YieldGard Rootworm technology in the United States in 2003, and YieldGard Plus hybrids have been on the market since 2005. Monsanto's mid-season estimates highlight that corn hybrids containing the company's YieldGard Rootworm insect-protected corn technology were planted on roughly 9-10 million acres of the U.S. corn crop this year.

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