GM Can Do Wonders with Food Crops

Some recent information provides even more success stories in yield increases in major crops using modern options in genetic modification.

Example 1

New genetically modified corn produces up to 10% more than similar types
Science - 04 November 2019
Researchers have for the first time conclusively shown they can increase corn yields up to 10% by changing a gene that increases plant growth—regardless of whether growing conditions are poor or optimal. …researchers at Corteva Agriscience, a chemical and seed company based in Wilmington, Delaware, decided to look at genes that function like master switches for growth and yield. They picked MADS-box genes, a group common in many plants, before settling on one (zmm28) to alter in corn plants. The researchers tested the enhanced gene’s performance in 48 commercial types of corn, known as hybrids, that are commonly used to feed livestock and found yield increases ranging from 3-10% with the findings published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Example 2.

Researchers Use Gene Modification to Defeat Rice-Killing Disease
Karma Impact - 31 October 2019
Researchers successfully edited the genome of strains of rice grown in Southeast Asia and West Africa to block a pathogen [bacterial blight] that ravages yields of the staple crop, the latest example of gene modification that may reduce hunger throughout the world.Scientists at Manila’s International Rice Research Institute used CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to prevent rice from expressing genes that serve as Xoo’s point of entry to hijack the plant’s nutrients, according to Nature. The team found that rice plants with these engineered genes were resistant to at least 95 Xoo strains.

Both crops are major food sources world wide, and using GM techniques can add big increases in yield quite quickly.

Another "biggie" is Vitamin A enhanced rice - and Bangladesh seems likely to approve its use very soon.

Example 3

Bangladesh close to releasing Golden Rice
Dhaka Tribune – 28 October 2019
Bangladesh will soon make a decision on the release of Golden Rice. According to the WHO one in every five pre-school children and 23.7% of pregnant women suffer from vitamin A deficiency in Bangladesh.