GM Trait Statistics Transgenic Crops by Trait

Herbicide tolerance continues to be the most common transgenic trait. Herbicide tolerance is available for all of the major GM crops, including soybean, maize, rapeseed, and cotton. In 2005, the first herbicide tolerant sugar beets were approved in the US, Australia, Canada, and the Philippines. Herbicide tolerant rice and wheat already have been developed, but currently are not in use. In 2006, there was wide cultivation of herbicide tolerant alfalfa for the first time in the USA (80,000 hectares). In most cases, tolerance is to the herbicides glyphosate (Roundup) or glufosinate-ammonium (Liberty). Such crops make up 70 percent of the 102.0 million hectares of GM crops worldwide (2006).

Insect resistance is the second most common genetically modified trait. Herbicide tolerance and insect resistance (Bt) often are introduced simultaneously to a crop in one transformation event. This is called trait stacking. The third most commonly grown transgenic crop was stacked insect resistant/herbicide tolerant maize. Combined herbicide and insect resistance was the fastest growing GM trait from 2004 to 2005, grown on over 6.5 million hectares in the US and Canada and comprising seven percent of the global biotech area. The recent expansion of Bt crops is mainly due to the increasing Bt maize and Bt cotton production in China, India, and Australia.