ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER 24 MARKET DEVELOPMENT Independent research supports the technology’s value under specific conditions. Fernanda González, a wheat physiologist at INTA Pergamino and CONICET, evaluated HB4 wheat across 29 field environments in the Argentine Pampas and found an average yield advantage of eight per cent, rising to approximately 13 per cent in drought-prone environments. The benefit was primarily associated with maintaining biomass and grain numbers under stress, rather than increasing grain size. The trait also responded positively to moderate heat stress, likely because greater water uptake helped maintain a cooler canopy, she said. Under favourable conditions with little or no water limitation, the advantage largely disappeared. “The trait is most valuable in environments where crops experience combined drought and moderate heat stress,” she said. Martín Díaz-Zorita, a crop scientist at the National University of La Pampa and CONICET who has conducted field trials under dryland conditions in the semi-arid Pampas since 2022, reached similar conclusions. He described HB4 as “a risk-management tool, not a guarantee of higher yield.” Matías Kugler, a grain farmer and agronomist near Pergamino in northern Buenos Aires province, evaluated HB4 wheat varieties on his own farm. An early investor in Bioceres, he said yields were consistently higher under stress. The varieties carrying the trait were not competitive enough with top-performing commercial options, though, he said. Bioceres has been working to address the germplasm gap through a collaboration with GDM Seeds, the dominant soybean germplasm provider in South America. GDM confirmed it is evaluating HB4 as part of its research and development efforts but said the technology has not yet been commercialized. The science, it seems, is not the real problem, and del Solar said as much long before commercial approval was granted. While serving under President Macri, del Solar pointed to Canada as a cautionary tale. In 2009, trace amounts of CDC Triffid, an unauthorized GM flaxseed variety, were detected in a Europe-bound Canadian shipment. The EU market, which at the time accounted for 68 per cent of Canada’s flax exports, effectively closed. The estimated cost to the industry was $29.1 million. Canada spent the next 17 years working to restore confidence, maintaining a rigorous testing protocol on every flaxseed shipment bound for Europe. That protocol was retired only in May, around the same time the Argentine and Brazilian soymeal alerts were making international headlines. For del Solar, it was always about the market. When delivering wheat to Cargill, he said, buyers require a GMO-free guarantee. There is zero tolerance for the presence of HB4. “No benefits, and all the problems,” Del Solar said. It’s a tough lesson, and one Canada already learned the hard way through flax. Krista Zuzak, director of crop protection and production at Cereals Canada, said she supports the adoption of innovations that benefit farmers. But she was also clear about the conditions under which they would be considered. “Before any new technology is adopted, we would work closely with international customers to ensure Canadian wheat would continue to be accepted in their markets,” she said. • continued from page 23
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