Based on its belief that a genetically engineered strain of bentgrass “is unlikely to pose a plant pest risk,” the USDA agency in charge of biotechnology has deregulated the grass, which escaped field trials in 2003 and grows in the wild in two Oregon counties, said Capital Press. The deregulation followed an agreement by Scotts, the developer of the grass, not to commercialize the variety.
Some farmers and water managers in Malheur and Jefferson counties worry that the herbicide-tolerant bent grass will clog irrigation canals or disrupt sales of hay to countries that ban GE crops, said the newspaper.
The grass-seed industry, based in the Willamette Valley, worries the GE grass will spread into their territory and jeopardize their $1 billion-a-year industry, said the Portland Oregonian.