LONDON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- At least one genetically modified crop proposed for possible use in Britain is certain to produce large numbers of hybrid plants, a report said Friday.
Researchers from the University of Reading, the National Institute of Agricultural Botany and the Center for Ecology and Hydrology say the oilseed canola will breed with a wild relative so that hybrids will be widespread and fairly frequent.
But they say the presence of hybrids poses no automatic risk in itself, the BBC reported.
Canola, also known as rapeseed, is known to breed with B. rapa, whose popular names are bargeman's cabbage or wild turnip.
They estimate 1.8 million waterside wild turnips are within 30 yards of canola fields in Britain, and expect the probable emergence of 26,000 hybrid plants at these sites.
"The presence of hybrids is not a hazard in itself and does not imply inevitable ecological change ... an estimate of hybrid abundance represents only the first step toward a more quantitative assessment of risk at the national level," the report said.
