Scotts Testing Genetically Modified Grass [View All]

[Wonk]

Fri Apr 9, 3:05 PM ET
By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI, Associated Press Writer

GERVAIS, Ore. - In an unmarked site on the edges of this community of berry farmers, Bob Harriman puts one foot on the world's most controversial grass. It's a blanket of brilliant green — as thin as a piece of paper and as uniform as cellophane. If it sounds unnatural, that's because it is.

The turf is a genetically modified version of the creeping bentgrass popular on golf course greens and fairways, and it is being tested here by Scotts Co., which hopes its creation will be resistant to a common weed-killing chemical.

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"Our concern is that if it was to escape onto public land, we wouldn't know how to control it," says Gina Ramos, senior weed specialist for the Bureau of Land Management.

Her words conjure an image of a golf course gone berserk — a state park, for example, blanketed in acres of perfect putting green turf, with no biodiversity.

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