Method devoloped to end pink bollworm threat
Monday, 15 November 2010
ARIZONA, Nov 14 (Commodity Online): In a significant development, researchers from University of Arizona have successfully developed method to kill the deadly pink boll worm, that affects quality and quantity of cotton lint and seeds across the world.
Researchers were able to kill 99.9 per cent of worms in plantations in certain regions in Arizona for the period spanning 2006-09.
Pink bollworm or Pectinophora Gossypiella, a cotton pest, was first recorded in India in 1842 from where it spread to other parts of the world through cotton seeds.
One of the serious damage inflicting pests across cotton-growing parts of India, the worm affects quality and quantity of cotton lint and seeds.
Earlier in March, Monsanto, the biotech agriculture giant, admitted that its Bt Cotton had fallen prey to the attacks of pink bollworm in parts of Gujarat. This admission, pertaining to GM cotton, was the first-of-its-kind in the world!
The researchers found that a specimen of pink bollworms developed resistance to the toxins in Bt cotton that would otherwise have killed worms.
To circumvent the problem, researchers introduced large number of sterile pink bollworms into a refuge area--an area consisting of non-GM cotton. The sterile insects survived there and eventually mated with fertile wild moth.
"The sterile insects soak up the reproductive potential of the wild population. If you have a high enough ratio of sterile to wild moths, you can drive the reproduction of the wild population to zero." Daily Tech quoted a researcher as saying.
Researchers were able to kill 99.9 per cent of worms in plantations in certain regions in Arizona for the period spanning 2006-09.
Pink bollworm or Pectinophora Gossypiella, a cotton pest, was first recorded in India in 1842 from where it spread to other parts of the world through cotton seeds.
One of the serious damage inflicting pests across cotton-growing parts of India, the worm affects quality and quantity of cotton lint and seeds.
Earlier in March, Monsanto, the biotech agriculture giant, admitted that its Bt Cotton had fallen prey to the attacks of pink bollworm in parts of Gujarat. This admission, pertaining to GM cotton, was the first-of-its-kind in the world!
The researchers found that a specimen of pink bollworms developed resistance to the toxins in Bt cotton that would otherwise have killed worms.
To circumvent the problem, researchers introduced large number of sterile pink bollworms into a refuge area--an area consisting of non-GM cotton. The sterile insects survived there and eventually mated with fertile wild moth.
"The sterile insects soak up the reproductive potential of the wild population. If you have a high enough ratio of sterile to wild moths, you can drive the reproduction of the wild population to zero." Daily Tech quoted a researcher as saying.