Biotech Updates

IRM's Contribution to Stewardship of Bt Crops

August 3, 2012

The design and implementation of insect resistance management programs for Bt crops, a paper published in the journal GM Crops and Food, notes the success of using integrated resistant management (IRM) programs and how they have contributed to proper stewardship.

Authors Graham Head and John Greenplate summarize the current status of Bt crop technologies in cotton and corn, the principles of IRM for Bt crops and what they mean for the design of IRM programs. They observed that resistance issues, if any, were associated with first generation technologies and incomplete or compromised IRM programs.

"Next generation technologies with multiple pyramided modes of action, together with the implementation of IRM strategies that are more dependent upon manufacturing and less dependent upon grower behavior, such as seed mixes, should further enhance IRM programs for Bt crops," the authors added.

The paper's abstract is available at http://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/gmcrops/2012GMC0001R.pdf.