Gene derived from sunflowerseed used in GM wheat variety commercialised in Argentina and Brazil

The new drought-resistant HB4 wheat variety had been developed by Argentine biotechnology company Bioceres, the 27 August report said.

After the USA, South America’s major grain and oilseeds producers Brazil and Argentina are the second and third largest growers of biotech crop varieties in the world, according to the report.

“With more than 26M ha planted with genetically engineered soyabean, corn and cotton crops, Argentina has the third largest area of GE crops under cultivation in the world,” an Argentine government spokesperson was quoted as saying in an annual report on the sector published in December 2023.

“The commercial adoption of GE crops began in 1996 with the introduction of herbicide-tolerant soyabeans and has seen unprecedented growth in area planted since.”

HB4’s approval in Argentina had raised concerns among several farmer organisations and exporters that it could hamper Argentine wheat exports in other markets, the spokesperson said.

To address these concerns, the spokesperson said the Argentine government had created an audit commission within the National Seed Institute (INASE).

The Argentine authorities had taken the view that “the biosafety approval granted to flour derived from HB4 wheat met the regulatory requirement for major market approval and granted full approval for HB4 seed commercialisation in May 2022.”

In an emailed response to questions from World Grain, Bioceres manager of global seed and trait Martin Mariani said: “In terms of HB4 wheat being planted in Argentina and Brazil … we don’t see HB4 as a replacement per se for traditional wheat – more like an insurance policy, because it can stabilise production in traditional wheat production regions that are experiencing longer and more regular incidents of drought, like the Central and Southern productive regions of the Argentine Pampas (which contribute more than 95% of wheat production in Argentina) and the southern states of Brazil (90% of Brazil’s productive wheat area), both of which have recently suffered some of their worst, most prolonged droughts in decades.”

Mariani said it was also being planted in newer wheat production areas like Brazil’s Cerrado region, where Bioceres was working with Brazil’s Agricultural Research Corporation Embrapa to develop subtropical HB4 wheat varieties.

“In Argentina in the 2022/23 season, more than 55,000 ha of HB4 wheat were planted out of a total of 5.9M ha,” Mariani added.

“Overall, from 2019 to today, over 100,000 ha of HB4 wheat have been planted in Argentina. We also have collaborations with other seed companies that are developing HB4 varieties in Argentina.”

HB4 wheat is currently the only available drought-tolerant wheat technology available, according to Mariani.

“It enables crops to maintain photosynthesis and generate antioxidants and Osmo protectants in conditions of water stress, offering more predictable yields under adverse conditions,” he said.

“It can play a key role in the adaptation of farming systems to more extreme climates.”

HB4 wheat increased yields by an average of 20% in water-limited conditions, he said.

“From the grower perspective, the technology doesn’t cause any drag yield when there is no drought and it is tolerant to glufosinate herbicide.

Meanwhile, Bioceres’ HB4 wheat trait had received approval from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on 27 August, World Grain wrote in a separate report on 28 August.

However, US Wheat Associates (USW) had cautioned that it could still take several years for HB4 to be commercialised in the USA, as there were several more steps to be taken, including the need to conduct closed-system field trials, the report said.

Welcoming the USDA’s move, former USW chairman Mike Peters was quoted as saying: “With global demand for wheat hitting new records almost every year, there is concern about variable production. A drought-tolerant trait offers more stable, sustainable production.”

USW said it would continue to monitor Bioceres’ commercialisation plans to ensure careful stewardship and alignment with the “Wheat Industry Principles for Biotechnology Commercialization” developed jointly with the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG).

HB4 wheat had also been approved for food and feed in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa, Colombia, Thailand, and Chile, as well as for cultivation in Paraguay and Argentina, Bioceres’ Mariani said.

HB4 wheat dossiers were also being evaluated in Bolivia, Uruguay and the Philippines, he added.

Source: Oils and Fats International