Are there other preventive measures that may help reduce the chances of contamination or cross-pollination?
Contamination can occur at any of a variety of points throughout the production and marketing channels, from the seed provider to the end-user. Thus, cleanliness and identity preservation will be critical factors in keeping contamination to a minimum. To begin, prepare field plans and designate where specific transgenic and non-transgenic crops will be grown. Draw detailed field maps that show the location of each hybrid or variety. Design the plan so all transgenic hybrids or varieties are planted either first or last, thus reducing the amount of time necessary to clean out the planter. Take the time to adequately clean the seed hoppers and metering mechanisms of the planter. A single kernel of corn seed that is left in the planter has the potential of producing several thousand kernels of unwanted, contaminated grain. Retain tags from seed bags for each hybrid or variety planted. At harvest time, harvest transgenic and non-transgenic crops in the same manner in which they were plante
