WASHINGTON, July 23, 2015 -- USDA today announced its decision to deregulate Dow AgroSciences’ genetically engineered (GE) Enlist cotton trait in the United States. The department has now completed its regulatory review process for all of Dow’s Enlist traits — corn, soybeans and cotton.
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said it completed its final plant pest risk assessment (PPRA), finding the GE cotton is unlikely to pose a plant pest risk to agriculture in the United States. The agency also completed an environmental assessment that finds deregulation is not likely to have a significant impact on the human environment.
The Enlist cotton is tolerant to Dow’s Enlist Duo herbicide, a blend of 2,4-D and glyphosate. The Environmental Protection Agency has approved Enlist Duo for use with the brand’s corn and soybeans, but not yet for use on Enlist cotton.
Pending this approval, Dow expects to launch Enlist cotton in 2016.
“The deregulation of Enlist cotton marks a tremendous milestone for the cotton industry,” John Chase, Enlist commercial leader for Dow, said in a press release. “In the South, growers are all too familiar with the challenges created by resistant weeds. Enlist cotton will open the door to other options for in-season weed control with multiple modes of action.”
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