The Western corn rootworm is the major pest of corn in the USA and has recently become the target for insect-resistant transgenic crops. Transgenic crops have switched the focus for identifying insecticide targets from the insect nervous system to the midgut. Here we describe a collection of 691 sequences from the Western corn rootworm midgut, 27% of which predict proteins with no matches in cu...

Crop rotation is an effective tactic for soybean cyst nematode (SCN) management. In the North Central region of the USA, corn is almost exclusively used as a nonhost rotation crop with soybean. This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of crops common to or having potential use in the North Central region as rotation crops for managing SCN. Sixteen potential rotation crops and SCN...

Whether or not to require labeling of food produced from crops that are genetically modified (GM) using recombinant DNA technology is a key issue in the ongoing debate over the risks and benefits of using biotechnology in agriculture. The U.S. government regulates GM food technologies, but once GM crops are approved they are considered to be ‘substantially equivalent’ to their conventional coun...

The rapidly growing world population and rising consumption of biofuels intensify demands for both food and biofuels. This exaggerates food and fuel shortages. The use of food crops such as corn grain to produce ethanol raises major nutritional and ethical concerns. Nearly 60% of humans in the world are currently malnourished, so the need for grains and other basic foods is critical. Growing cr...

1 Corn grain produced on fertile cropland is used for both human and livestock consumption. However, co-production of distiller’s grains notwithstanding, the use of corn grain and fertile cropland to produce fuel remains controversial, driving interest in cellulosic fuels generated from vegetative (non-grain) plant biomass (Biello, 2011; Wetzstein and Wetzstein, 2011; Bonin and Lal, 2012). Bioe...

Several reduced, or conservation tillage (CT) approaches are currently being evaluated in Central Valley forage production systems. In theory, these practices reduce costs and minimize the time needed to go from one crop to the next. Recent single-year trials with dairy forage producers in Stanislaus and Tulare Counties have evaluated the potential of several CT systems and have identified a nu...

When glyphosate is applied to glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops, drift to nonglyphosate-resistant (non-GR) crops may cause significant injury and reduce yields. Tools are needed to quantify injury and predict crop losses. In this study, glyphosate drift was simulated by direct application at 12.5% of the recommended label rate to non-GR corn (Zea mays L.) at 3 or 6 weeks after planting (WAP) duri...

Paraquat (1,1_-dimethyl-4,4_-bipyridinium dichloride), is a foliar-applied and non selective bipyridinium herbicides, and it is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world, controlling weeds in a huge variety of crops like corn, rice, soybean, wheat, potatoes; major fruits: apples, oranges, bananas; beverages: coffee, tea, cocoa; and processed crops: cotton, oil palm, sugarcane and rubber.

The widespread planting of crops genetically engineered to produce insecticidal toxins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) places intense selective pressure on pest populations to evolve resistance. Western corn rootworm is a key pest of maize, and in continuous maize fields it is often managed through planting of Bt maize. During 2009 and 2010, fields were identified in Iowa...

Non-target organisms associated with the soil might be adversely affected by exposure to the CrylAb protein from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in transgenic corn (Zea mays L.). To check for such exposure, we used ELISA to test for Cry1Ab in ground beetles collected live from fields with Bt corn residues and Bt corn (Bt/Bt), Bt corn residues and non-Bt crops (Bt/non-Bt), or non-Bt corn residues an...