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Penn State Takes the Lead in Transgenic Crop Analysis - May 2002
May 29, 2002
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA -- The European corn borer is estimated to cost field corn farmers $1.2 billion per year in lost yield in the United States. A new grant recently awarded to researchers at Penn State; Zedx, Inc. in Bellefonte, PA; Iowa State University; USDA/ARS Corn Insects and Crop Genetics Unit in Ames, IA and the University of Nebraska will allow for a nationwide assessment of economic and resistance risks associated with using technologies such as transgenic crops to prevent European corn borer infestations.
Dr. Dennis Calvin, professor of entomology in Penn State's College of Ag Sciences, is the project director. Calvin explains that in recent years, improvements to field corn insect management programs, such as Integrated Pest Management (IPM), have progressed in two areas: management and information technology. "The first major advance is the introduction of transgenic corn, which has potentially revolutionized corn insect management by literally putting the insect control in the seed, reducing pesticide applications. The second major advance is the development of high-resolution landscape models that predict pest occurrence, crop development, subsequent injury to the crop and the economics of IPM tactics," says Calvin.
IPM aims to manage pests -- such as insects, diseases, weeds and animals -- by combining physical, biological, genetic, cultural and chemical tactics that are safe, profitable and environmentally compatible. IPM is a philosophy that requires accurate information to make sound management decisions. Calvin says that based on classic economic injury level calculations and IPM principles, the introduction of this new more effective, low-cost technology clearly fits in to the IPM concept.
However, the unjustified and inappropriate use of this technology not only causes economic risks, but it can also affect the risk of pesticide resistance evolution. The true economic value of transgenic crops such as Bt corn occurs when a grower minimizes the risk of resistance by avoiding the use of the technology in fields that do not benefit from its use.
The USDA's RAMP (Risk, Avoidance and Mitigation Program) grant recently awarded to the researchers will allow them to evaluate the economic value of the technology and provide use guidelines that help protect against the potential development of pest resistance. The project will use site-specific models to estimate the average expected crop loss from the European corn borer, average expected returns to Bt technology, the probability of local fields gaining an economic return to the technology, and identify high-risk areas for resistance evolution.
A Web page for European corn borer IPM will be developed with comprehensive coverage of information on the pest's biology and management. High-resolution landscape maps that define the economic value of Bt-corn and percentage of fields that will gain from the technology will be developed at Penn State and then incorporated into the Iowa State Corn Insect Web page for wide-scale access by clientele. "This approach and Web page will provide a new format for high-resolution information use in IPM programming and for expansion into other pests and cropping systems," says Calvin.
For more information on the project, contact Calvin at (814) 863-4640 or by email at ifa@psu.edu.
The Pennsylvania IPM program is a collaboration between the Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture aimed at promoting integrated pest management in both agricultural and nonagricultural situations. For more information, contact the program at (814) 865-2839, or web site http://paipm.cas.psu.edu.