Developing and Using Pyramided Insect Resistant Crops for Sustainable Integrated Pest Management
Biotechnology
Pyramided Insect Resistant Crops
Development of high yielding insect resistant cotton, corn and soybean cultivars could have substantial economic benefit for farmers by reducing the need for insecticides. Insecticidal transgenic cotton, corn and soybeans all express toxins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). The first insect-resistant pyramided soybean was developed at the University of Georgia. These lines combine Bt and native resistance genes and differ from pyramided cotton and corn, which combine two Bt transgenes. UGA entomologists collaborated with other scientists to characterize insect resistance in pyramided cotton, corn and soybeans. Pyramiding soybean with insecticidal transgenes (Bt) with native resistant genes not only provides rock solid risk adverse pest management for the commodity, but could provide a critical component (as a type of refugia) for preventing pests from developing resistance to other Bt crops such as cotton and corn. All three crops provide as good pf control as insecticides of major pests in most cropping environments used by farmers in Georgia. (2006)
Sources
| Name | Department | |
| John All | jall@bugs.ent.uga.edu | Entomology |
| H. Boerma | rboerma@uga.edu | Crop and Soil Sciences |
| Shuguan Zhu | szhu@uga.edu | Center for Applied Genetic Technologies |