Suppression of Cotton Bollworm in Multiple Crops in China in Areas with Bt Toxin–Containing Cotton
Kong-Ming Wu,1
Yan-Hui Lu,1
Hong-Qiang Feng,1
Yu-Ying Jiang,2
Jian-Zhou Zhao1*
Transgenic cotton that has been engineered to produce insecticidal
toxins from
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and so to resist the
pest cotton bollworm (
Helicoverpa armigera) has been widely
planted in Asia. Analysis of the population dynamics of
H. armigera from 1992 to 2007 in China indicated that a marked decrease
in regional outbreaks of this pest in multiple crops was associated
with the planting of Bt cotton. The study area included six
provinces in northern China with an annual total of 3 million
hectares of cotton and 22 million hectares of other crops (corn,
peanuts, soybeans, and vegetables) grown by more than 10 million
resource-poor farmers. Our data suggest that Bt cotton not only
controls
H. armigera on transgenic cotton designed to resist
this pest but also may reduce its presence on other host crops
and may decrease the need for insecticide sprays in general.
2 National Agro-Technical Extension and Service Center, Beijing, 100026, People's Republic of China.
* Present address: Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Johnston, IA 50131, USA.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kmwu{at}ippcaas.cn
