Pollen drift

Pollen drift is the accidental cross-pollination of different varieties of crops through natural dispersal methods. The term is used almost exclusively when referring to strains of corn, and especially refers to the crossing of genetically modified crops with those that are not. For example, farmers who grow specialty crops may wish to preserve their genetic traits, such as an especially high oil content, without compromising the gene pool of the variety. Or, farmers may wish to avoid crossing a particular GMO crop that has been approved for export to a certain country, with non-GMO crops or other varieties of GMO crops that may not have the same approval.