Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · United States · 1970
1970 US corn blight destroyed about 15% of crop grown from uniform seed
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
In 1970 about 85% of US corn planted carried the same male-sterile cytoplasm, and southern corn leaf blight destroyed about 15% of the crop. The sources reviewed link the losses to the uniform seed base.
What?
Southern corn leaf blight in 1970 destroyed about 15% of US corn, where most planted corn shared one male-sterile cytoplasm. Purdue University
Where?
United States Purdue University
When?
1970 Purdue University
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
- US corn growers — about 15% of the crop destroyed by southern corn leaf blight Purdue University
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
The sources reviewed link the losses to the shared cytoplasm in most planted corn. Purdue University
How?
Most planted corn carried the same T-cytoplasm, so a single disease susceptibility spread across most of the crop. Purdue University
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
Corn Blight Watch (1974) reported that about 85% of US corn planted in 1970 carried the same male-sterile cytoplasm, known as T-cytoplasm.
Southern corn leaf blight destroyed about 15% of the crop that year, according to the same source.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The sources reviewed give no figure for the economic loss in dollars.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not identify which seed companies gained, or by how much.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers
Researchers
- Corn Blight Watch summary (1974)Purdue University · 1974