MON 88913

MON 88913 is a variety of Roundup Ready cotton made by Monsanto and sold under the brand name "Roundup Ready® Flex Cotton." It was deregulated in the U.S. in late 2004 and in Canada in 2005, and it was first sold commercially in 2006. In 2010, Monsanto brought it under its larger umbrella "Genuity" brand, rebranding it as "Genuity™ Roundup Ready® Flex Cotton." MON 88913 is genetically engineered to survive being sprayed with glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's herbicide Roundup. Farmers are instructed to spray their entire fields of cotton with Roundup, killing the weeds and leaving the crop alive. Roundup Ready crops and genetically modified organisms are controversial around the world.

2004: Deregulation in the U.S.
March 26, 2004, Monsanto submitted a petition to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for the deregulation of its cotton variety MON 88913. On October 4, 2004, APHIS published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that the Monsanto petition and an environmental assessment (EA) were available for public review and soliciting public comments, due on or before December 4, 2004. In a subsequent notice published in the Federal Register on November 24, 2004, APHIS announced the availability of an addendum to the Monsanto petition. The USDA conducted an environmental assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and issued a "finding of no significant impact" (FONSI). MON 88913 was deregulated on December 20, 2004.

At the time of deregulation, APHIS wrote in the Federal Register:
 * "MON 88913 has been genetically engineered to express a 5-enolpyruvyshikimate-3-phosphate synthase protein from Agrobacterium sp. strain CP4 (CP4 EPSPS), which confers tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate. Expression of the added genes is controlled in part by gene sequences derived from the plant pathogens figwort mosaic virus and cauliflower mosaic virus. The Agrobacterium tumefaciens transformation method was used to transfer the added genes into the recipient upland cotton variety Coker 312."

2005: Deregulation in Canada
MON 88913 was deregulated in Canada on November 16, 2005.

Brands and Manufacturers
Monsanto:
 * Genuity™ Roundup Ready® Flex Cotton (MON 88913)
 * Genuity® Bollgard II® with Roundup Ready® Flex Cotton (MON 15985 and MON 88913)

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Roundup Ready Cotton
 * Roundup Ready Crops
 * Herbicide Tolerant Crops
 * Genetically Modified Organisms
 * Roundup
 * Glyphosate
 * Glyphosate Resistant Weeds
 * GMO Policies by Country
 * Monsanto

External resources

 * GM Crop Database, Center for Environmental Risk Assessment
 * Overview of GMO Events Commercially Available and Regulatory Status
 * Novel Food Decisions - Approved Products, Health Canada.