Concern for canola

Sep 07, 2023

Mexico has become more hostile to genetically modified crops, agricultural innovations and pesticides, which could jeopardize Canadian ag exports to Mexico, says a biotechnology expert from the University of Saskatchewan.

Given changes in policy, there’s a chance that Mexico’s dispute with America about genetically modified corn could spread to other crops.

“It would be very prudent for the Canadian canola sector to be on top of what’s going on between the States and Mexico over corn,” said Stuart Smyth, a U of S agricultural economist.

“Mexico has demonstrated a willingness to try and prevent Bt cotton. They’ve got GM corn clearly in their sights. I think the canola export sector and the entire canola sector has to be very worried about Mexico’s ag and trade policies and the direction they’re heading in.”

For most of 2023, Mexico and the United States have been locked in a political battle over GM corn.

In February, Mexico announced a ban on GM corn use in tortillas and dough, with a plan to gradually substitute the use of biotech corn in all products for human consumption and for animal feed.

The U.S. pushed back against that decision and tried to convince the Mexican government to alter its position, to no avail.

On Aug. 17, the U.S. announced it would use the dispute settlement panel in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), to challenge the ban on GM corn.

“Mexico’s measures are not based on science and undermine the market access it agreed to provide in the USMCA,” the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement.

Smyth, who studies agricultural innovation and the regulation of ag technology, is concerned that Mexico’s policies have become more like Europe, where environmental organizations seemingly dictate policies around GM crops and pesticides.

As examples, Mexico hasn’t approved new Bt cotton varieties for several years. The government has also been phasing out the use of glyphosate, the most common herbicide in the world, and is planning a complete ban in March.

Last fall, the national legislature studied a bill that would prohibit 183 pesticides and encourage use of biological products, Reuters reported.

“Mexico, their regulations (were) solidly science-based,” Smyth said. “(But) in the past decade they’ve become very European, where they are precautionary based. Scientific evidence and data doesn’t play much of a role in Mexico’s current regulatory and policy framework.”

If Mexico’s rejection of ag technology continues, it could target other GM crops.

In 2022, Mexico was Canada’s third largest market for canola. It imported $1.2 billion worth of canola seed and $436 million worth of canola oil.

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Video: Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Understanding how a plant responds to stress is one thing.

Using that knowledge to make better management decisions is another.

Systemic acquired resistance, or SAR, is the plant's more direct defense response. When stress or infection occurs, the plant begins signaling throughout its system and preparing defensive compounds.

But if we know that response exists, can we help prepare the plant before the stress arrives?

The answer starts with understanding what triggers the response and what the plant needs to carry it out.

The Trigger and the Fuel

Salicylic acid plays an important role in triggering the SAR pathway.

Think of it as turning the truck on.

The engine may be running, but it still needs fuel to do the work.

In this case, manganese plays an important role in supporting the enzyme systems involved in the plant's defensive response.

This makes manganese status an important part of the conversation. Whether a producer is using tissue testing, sap analysis, or simply scouting for visible deficiency symptoms, the goal is to make sure the plant has adequate manganese available.

Manganese is required in relatively small amounts, but that does not make its role small.

If the plant receives a signal to defend itself but lacks the nutrition needed to support that response, it may struggle to carry out the process efficiently.

The trigger matters.

The fuel matters too.

Prepare Before the Stress Arrives

The best time to think about stress management is before the plant is overwhelmed.

Once a crop is already struggling, management can quickly turn into a game of catch-up.

This is similar to nitrogen management. Once a plant becomes severely deficient, correcting the problem does not necessarily erase the time and yield potential already lost.

Plant defense can work the same way.

Low-rate, targeted approaches designed to support the SAR pathway may fit best ahead of an expected stress event rather than after significant damage has already occurred.

That requires producers to think about predictable stress.

We may not know exactly what the weather will do tomorrow, but we generally know summer heat is coming. We know certain field conditions increase disease pressure. We know a herbicide application can temporarily stress a crop as the plant processes the chemistry.

Even a properly timed and labeled herbicide application can create a temporary response in the plant.

That does not mean the herbicide is bad.

Weeds can create significantly more yield loss than the temporary stress caused by controlling them.

The question is not whether we should eliminate every stressor.

The question is whether we can better prepare the plant to manage necessary and predictable stress.

Not All Stress Is Bad

Stress is a normal part of plant growth.

A perfectly stress-free environment does not exist in the field.

In fact, some stress is necessary for normal plant development. A plant responds to wind, temperature, moisture, sunlight, and countless other environmental signals throughout the season.

The environment is stress.

The plant's job is to manage it.

Problems begin when the stress load becomes greater than the plant's ability to respond.

Extreme heat, drought, high salt concentrations, disease pressure, and even certain management practices can add to that load.

This is where understanding SAR becomes useful.

Instead of waiting until the plant is visibly struggling, producers can begin identifying periods when stress is likely and make management decisions around those windows.

ISR Starts With the Soil

While SAR is a more direct defense response, induced systemic resistance, or ISR, brings the conversation back to soil health.

The longevity of a farm is closely connected to the health of its soil.

Carbon plays a major role because it supports biological life within the soil. Bacteria, fungi, and other organisms interact with plant roots and influence how the plant grows, accesses nutrients, and prepares for stress.

This is why soil health cannot be reduced to one product or one application.

It is a system.

Keeping living plants in the field longer can support biological activity. Cover crops may fit some operations. Better water management can improve soil conditions.