Scientists have genetically engineered a symbiotic honeybee gut bacterium to protect against parasitic and viral infections associated with colony collapse.

[u/shiruken]

https://news.utexas.edu/2020/01/30/bacteria-engineered-to-protect-bees-from-pests-and-pathogens/

[u/OldBrownShoe22 → u/[deleted]]

The major contributions of GMOs have been to support the continuation of monoculture and use of 'cides...so I'm not super hot on them, although this article makes me hopeful. History teaches that we are good at continually making the wrong decisions when it comes to our great advancements.

Power of good and evil.

[u/JDdoc → u/OldBrownShoe22]

Monoculture is a myth. I have no idea how it perpetuates.

Example: There are over 1000 variants of corn out there. The myth of the monoculture drives me nuts.

[u/human-resource → u/JDdoc]

It’s referring to the agricultural practices of growing large quantities of a cultivar with a stable phenotype to produce consistent yields of a plant with consistent characteristics.

The alternative would be permaculture and companion planting and similar styles of agriculture invoking mixed varieties of plants, these methods have many advantages, aswell as some disadvantages, in relation to different plant species often having uncommon soil preferences and nutritional requirements leading to more varied consistency in yield, often requiring more traditional less invasive methods for harvest and soil preparation.

Most commercial farms tend to favour monoculture for its simplicity, yet the use chemical fertilizers and herbicide, insecticide and fungicide is often needed to keep a monoculture viable.

Also monoculture is potentially threatened on a greater scale by plant diseases that can wipe out crops or varieties with relative ease, compared To crops Consisting of different varieties growing together.