The effectiveness of commercial Bt-cotton in pest management, influence on arthropod diversity, natural enemies, and toxin flow in the insect fauna under field conditions were studied keeping in view the need to assess bioefficacy and biosafety of Bt-transgenic cotton. There were no significant differences in oviposition by Helicoverpa armigera on Bt-transgenic and non-transgenic cottons (9.2 v...

Higher yields and reduced pesticide impacts are needed to mitigate the effects of agricultural intensification. A 2-year farm-scale evaluation of 81 commercial fields in Arizona show that use of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton reduced insecticide use, whereas transgenic cotton with Bt protein and herbicide resistance (BtHr) did not affect herbicide use. Transgenic cotton had highe...

The present work dealt with RAPD markers for genetic diversity comparison estimation in twenty three cotton varieties of Bt and non-Bt cotton cultivars belonging to two cultivated species of cotton in Andhra Pradesh state, India.Variations among twenty three different cotton varieties were analyzed with selected 40 RAPD primers using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). All the primers produced...

Cotton varieties expressing Cry proteins derived from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are grown worldwide for the management of pest Lepidoptera. To prevent non-target pest outbreaks and to retain the biological control function provided by predators and parasitoids, the potential risk that Bt crops may pose to non-target arthropods is addressed prior to their commercialization. ...

BACKGROUND Characterizing the spatial patterns of gene flow from transgenic crops is challenging, making it difficult to design containment strategies for markets that regulate the adventitious presence of transgenes. Insecticidal Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton is planted on millions of hectares annually and is a potential source of transgene flow. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Here we m...

As the demands for nanotechnology and nanoparticle (NP) applications in agriculture increase, the ecological risk has drawn more attention because of the unpredictable results of interactions between NPs and transgenic crops. In this study, we investigated the effects of various concentrations of Fe2O3 NPs on Bt-transgenic cotton in comparison with conventional cotton for 10 days. Each treatmen...

Bt cotton was approved for commercial cultivation in India in March 2002 after stringent assessment for biosafety and profitability. The Bt-cotton area increased from a meager 0.4% to 40% of the cotton area in India, in a short period of four years. The technology was found to result in many positive benefits for Indian agriculture, especially in terms of reducing farmer stress from management ...

Development of resistance to the insecticidal toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in insects is the major threat to the continued success of transgenic Bt crops in agriculture. The fitness of Bt-resistant insects on Bt and non-Bt plants is a key parameter that determines the development of Bt resistance in insect populations. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of the fitness of Bt-resi...

The rapid adoption of genetically engineered (GE) plants that express insecticidal Cry proteins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has raised concerns about their potential impact on non-target organisms. This includes the possibility that non-target herbivores develop into pests. Although studies have now reported increased populations of non-target herbivores in Bt cotton, the underlyin...

Guiyan Wang Yuhong Wu Wangsheng Gao Michel Fok Weili Liang Hebei Agricultural University, P. R. of China 071001 [email protected] China Agricultural University; CIRAD, Annual Cropping Systems, Montpellier, France Abstract: In order to analyze the impacts of Bt cotton on the farmers’ livelihood system, we interviewed 169 farmers and extension personnel in the main cotton production areas in He...