Officially mass-produced 3 genetically modified corn varieties

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has just signed a Decision to recognize three genetically modified corn varieties, allowing genetically modified corn to be officially commercialized and put into mass production in Vietnam.

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Specifically, three genetically modified corn varieties, NK66 Bt, NK66 GT and Nk66 Bt/GT, will be officially applied to corn growing areas across the country.

Among them, the NK66 Bt variety is applied in corn growing areas with high pressure on stem borers; the NK66 GT variety is for corn growing areas using herbicides at the 3-4 leaf stage; the NK66 Bt/GT variety is for corn growing areas with high pressure on stem borers and using herbicides at the 3-4 leaf stage.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the three genetically modified corn varieties NK66 Bt, NK66 GT and NK66 Bt/GT were all created from the hybrid corn variety NK66.

In terms of productivity and quality, the NK66 Bt variety has an average yield of 9.24 tons/ha, surpassing the base variety (8.06 tons/ha) by 18.6%. The NK66 GT genetically modified corn variety has an average yield of 8.43 tons/ha, equivalent to the base variety (8.42 tons/ha). The NK66 Bt/GT genetically modified corn variety has an average yield of 9.24 tons/ha, surpassing the base variety (7.76 tons/ha) by 12.4 - 37.5%.

The commercial grain quality of NK66 Bt and NK66 Bt/GT corn varieties is also better than that of the base variety because the grains are not damaged by stem borers and fungal diseases.

In terms of economic, social and environmental efficiency, the use of genetically modified corn varieties NK66 Bt, NK66 GT, NK66 Bt/GT gives significantly higher economic efficiency than the base variety (NK66 Bt variety is 30.1% higher than the base variety NK66; Nk66 GT is 7.8% higher than the base variety; Nk66 Gt/BT is 35.3% higher than the base variety).

According to chinhphu.vn