Plantings of half a million hectares of Roundup Ready® Canola in 2018
- By: "Farm Tender" News
- Cattle News
- Jul 09, 2018
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The ability to manage difficult to control weeds has spurred Australian canola growers to plant just under half a million hectares to Roundup Ready® canola in 2018.
Sixty percent of growers surveyed by Monsanto said they chose to grow Roundup Ready canola varieties because it allowed them to control tough weeds and resulted in cleaner paddocks for crops following canola.
Monsanto Australia Managing Director Tony May said although overall hectares of canola planted this year is down, the total amount of Roundup Ready canola planted by growers in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia continues to grow year on year.
“The lack of rain, delayed break and significant wind events are throwing yet another challenge at farmers across the grainbelts and in general, crops are a month behind for this time of year,” Tony said.
“We are forecasting that growers have planted 498,897ha of Roundup Ready canola, which we estimate will be about 22 percent1 of the total canola crop across the three states that allow commercial plantings of genetically-modified canola.
“This year, 179 new growers will plant GM canola for the first time. Fifty-one of these are in New South Wales and 80 of these are in Western Australia. In total, more than 1,100 growers will plant Roundup Ready canola, with more than 700 of those in Western Australia,” he said.
This year marks a decade of Australian growers having access to GM canola (nine years in Western Australia) and ten years of growers using GM canola as a vital weed control tool.
Growers can see the next generation of glyphosate-tolerant canola in action this season with field days showcasing TruFlex® canola with Roundup Ready® Technology across the key canola growing regions. TruFlex canola is anticipated to be commercially released next season (subject to regulatory approval in key export markets) and will offer growers more flexibility in glyphosate application rates and timing.
Tony said “We’re excited about the opportunity to share the new TruFlex technology with growers, which will provide a simple and flexible system for controlling the weeds that are truly damaging to the cropping industry.
“Monsanto is continuing to invest in tools and technologies that help farmers grow more with less. We know there is an ongoing role for GM technologies for Australian farmers. Given how important they are to the sustainability of Australia agriculture we are committed to working with our partners to increase awareness and understanding of the technology,” he said.
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