According to the latest figures from the University of Nebraska’s Cropwatch resource, 12 weed species in the USA are now resistant to Roundup, with a further 10 species worldwide also affected. Resistance is developing at a rate of one new weed species each year.

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In Nebraska, glyphosate resistant giant ragweed was confirmed to have developed and begun affecting growers late last month. University of Nebraska researcher Stevan Knezevic commented, "Producers have started to complain [about resistant ragweed] this year all over the state."

Crops resistant to glyphosate have been grown in the USA since 1996, most common are industry-leader Monsanto’s Roundup-Ready range of crops, which have been engineered to withstand the top-selling herbicide. However, weeds have also developed resistance through natural selection; the first glyphosate resistant weeds identified were rigid ryegrass in New South Wales, Australia, though the problem is now prevalent in North America, affecting at least 13 US states.

The rise of resistant weeds has led farmers in the USA to use to older, more damaging herbicides and, in some cases, increase applications, rather than decrease the amount of chemicals used - one of the major selling points of GM crops engineered to resist glyphosate.

Worryingly for farmers dependant on modified crops, herbicide development has slowed over the past few years. This has led some industry experts to state that traditional breeding methods may yet prove to be more effective and resilient than GM.

Speaking at the Crop World event being held in London this week, William Reville of University College Cork said of the dilemma the biotech industry faces, "[Herbicide resistant crops were] a very smart technology and uptake in America, China and India was rapid. But a different approach may now have to be taken, as resistance is a reality. There are only a limited number of herbicides available and natural selection is a factor with all of them. Traditional breeding methods may yet prove to be better."

Indian report slams companies behind GM

A recent report produced by Indian NGO Navdanya International and several partners slammed industry claims that GM technology as it exists is a benefit to farmers. The farming organisation, which claims to have trained more than 500,000 farmers in sustainable agriculture over the past 20 years, blamed corporate domination for the reluctance to face up to inconvenient truths in farming.

Vandana Shiva, director of the group behind The GMO Emperor Has No Clothes: A Global Citizens' Report on the State of GMOs, which was published in October, said, “We have been told that genetically modified crops will save the world. However, the GM emperor has no clothes. All of these claims have been established as false over years of experience all across the world.”

“Choice is being undermined as food systems are increasingly controlled by giant corporations and as chemical and genetic pollution spread. GM companies have put a noose round the neck of farmers. They are destroying alternatives in the pursuit of profit.”

The report reveals that just three companies have cornered the global seed market, controlling nearly 70 per cent of seed sales; Monsanto, Dupont and Syngenta, the world's three largest biotech companies today control the majority of seed sales worldwide.

The organisation’s report also refers to American and Australian studies which found that conventional crops outperform GM crops, including a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, published in the U.S., which concluded genetic engineering has not contributed to yield increases in any crop.

The GMO Emperor has No Clothes also accuses Monsanto in particular of exploitative business practices, in gaining control of over 95 per cent of the Indian cotton seed market and pushing up prices.

The full report can be read online here