Effects of transgenic Bacillus thuringiensis cotton on insecticide use, heliothine counts, plant damage, and cotton yield: A meta-analysis, 1996-2015

The primary management tactic for lepidopteran pests of cotton in the United States of America (USA) is the use of transgenic cotton that produces Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) toxins. The primary target pests of this technology are Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) and Heliothis virescens (F.) in the...

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Published inPloS one Vol. 13; no. 7; p. e0200131
Main Authors Fleming, Daniel, Musser, Fred, Reisig, Dominic, Greene, Jeremy, Taylor, Sally, Parajulee, Megha, Lorenz, Gus, Catchot, Angus, Gore, Jeffrey, Kerns, David, Stewart, Scott, Boykin, Deborah, Caprio, Michael, Little, Nathan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Public Library of Science 19.07.2018
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects
Agriculture
Bacillus thuringiensis
Biochemistry
Biology and Life Sciences
Causes of
Cotton
Cotton (Plant)
Crop yield
Crop yields
Crops
Damage assessment
Diseases and pests
Distribution
Ecology
Forecasts and trends
Greene, Sally
Helicoverpa virescens
Helicoverpa zea
Heliothis virescens
Insecticide resistance
Insecticides
Kerns, Scott
Lepidoptera
Medicine and Health Sciences
Meta-analysis
Molecular biology
Noctuidae
People and places
Pests
Plant pathology
Properties
Research and Analysis Methods
Tobacco
Toxins
Transgenic plants
United States
United States > US
Mississippi
Texas
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Summary:The primary management tactic for lepidopteran pests of cotton in the United States of America (USA) is the use of transgenic cotton that produces Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) toxins. The primary target pests of this technology are Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) and Heliothis virescens (F.) in the eastern and central Cotton Belt of the USA. Concerns over the evolution of resistance in H. zea to Bt toxins and scrutiny of the necessity of Bt crops has escalated. We reviewed published and unpublished data from field trials of Bt cotton in the eastern and central Cotton Belt of the USA through 2015 to evaluate the effectiveness of Bt cotton (Bollgard, Bollgard II, WideStrike, WideStrike 3, and TwinLink). Bt cotton reduced insecticide usage, reduced heliothine pest numbers and damage, and provided a yield benefit, but Bollgard II and WideStrike efficacy declined in the Midsouth over the period evaluated. In the Southeastern region, heliothine damage remained constant through 2015, but yield benefits declined from 2010 until 2015. Resistance of H. zea to several Bt toxins is the most plausible explanation for the observed changes in Bt cotton efficacy. The introduction of new Bt toxins such as found in Widestrike 3 and Twinlink may preserve the benefits of Bt crops. However, while both Widestrike 3 and Twinlink had less damage than Widestrike, damage levels of both were similar to Bollgard II.
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Current address: Provivi, Inc. Santa Monica, CA, United States of America
Competing Interests: While the agriculture industry did not fund the analysis presented in this manuscript, all the authors affiliated with a university routinely conduct research for Monsanto, Bayer CropSciences and Dow Agrosciences as well as other agrichemical companies. Most of the trial data reported in this manuscript was gathered as part of trials that were funded by these biotechnology companies. DF was a post-doc at Mississippi State University when most of the work was done and is currently employed by Provivi, Inc. Beyond providing his salary, Provivi, Inc did not have any role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. These competing interests do not alter the authors’ adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0200131