The percentage of corn planted using biotechnology varieties in Indiana is unchanged from last year, according to Nathanial Warenski, state statistician of the USDA NASS, Indiana Field Office. Biotechnology varieties accounted for 87 percent of the corn acres planted in Indiana. Soybean plantings in Indiana included 93 percent biotechnology varieties, up 2 percentage points from a year earlier.
Nationally, ninety-three percent of this year's corn acreage was planted with biotechnology seed varieties, the same as last year. Biotechnology seed includes traits for insect resistance (Bt), herbicide resistance, or stacked gene which contains traits for both herbicide and insect resistance.
Farmers were asked if they planted corn or soybeans that, through biotechnology, are resistant to herbicides, insects, or both. Conventionally bred herbicide resistant varieties are excluded. Insect resistant varieties include only those containing bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). The Bt varieties include those that contain more than one gene that can resist different types of insects. Stacked gene varieties include only those containing biotech traits for both herbicide and insect resistance.
Categories: Indiana, Crops, Corn, Soybeans