<p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Field Testing</b></p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">Field testing of DK404SR maize hybrids demonstrated that agronomic characteristics such as: plant size and vigour, growth, male and female fertility, time to maturity, flowering period, and seed yield, were within the range of values displayed by currently commercialized hybrids. It was determined that the growing habit of the modified maize plants was not inadvertently altered and that DK404SR maize hybrids did not display any altered pest potential.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Outcrossing</b></p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">Since pollen production and viability were unchanged by the genetic modification resulting in maize hybrid DK404SR, pollen dispersal by wind and outcrossing frequency should be no different than for other maize hybrids. Gene exchange between DK404SR and other cultivated maize hybrids will be similar to that which occurs naturally between cultivated maize varieties at the present time. In Canada, where there are no plant species closely-related to maize in the wild, the risk of gene flow to other species is remote. Cultivated maize, <i>Zea mays</i> L. subsp. mays, is sexually compatible with other members of the genus Zea, and to a much lesser degree with members of the genus Tripsacum. However, none of the sexually compatible relatives of maize in Canada are considered to be weeds in Canada, and it is therefore unlikely that introgression of the modified ACCase gene would provide a selective advantage to these populations as they would not be routinely subject to herbicide treatments.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Weediness Potential</b></p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">No competitive advantage was conferred to maize line DK404SR, other than that conferred by resistance to sethoxydim herbicide. Resistance to Poast&reg; herbicide will not, in itself, render maize weedy or invasive of natural habitats since none of the reproductive or growth characteristics were modified.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">Cultivated maize is unlikely to establish in non-cropped habitats and there have been no reports of maize surviving as a weed. In agriculture, maize volunteers are not uncommon but are easily controlled by mechanical or by using herbicides that are not based on sethoxydim as appropriate. <i>Zea mays</i> is not invasive and is a weak competitor with very limited seed dispersal.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Secondary and Non-Target Adverse Effects</b></p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">The novel trait present in the maize hybrid DK404SR was a mutation within a single corn enzyme, that altered the sethoxydim binding site without modification of metabolic abilities. Therefore, the potential toxicity of the ACCase enzyme was not a concern. It was determined that the maize hybrid DK404SR would not result in altered impacts on interacting organisms, including humans, compared with currently commercialized counterparts.</p>

<p style="text-align: justify;"><b>Impact on Biodiversity</b></p>

<p style="text-align: justify;">Maize hybrid DK404SR has no novel phenotypic characteristics that would extend its use beyond the current geographic range of maize production. Since the risk of outcrossing with wild relatives in Canada is remote, it was determined that the risk of transferring genetic traits from DK404SR to species in unmanaged environments was insignificant.</p>
