Bt cotton area contraction drives regional pest resurgence, crop loss, and pesticide use.

ABSTRACT: Genetically-modified crops expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) proteins have been widely cultivated, permitting an effective non-chemical control of major agricultural pests. While their establishment can enable an area-wide suppression of polyphagous herbivores, no information is available on the impact of Bt crop abandonment in entire landscape matrices. Here, we detail a resurgence of the cosmopolitan bollworm Helicoverpa armigera following a contraction of Bt cotton area in dynamic agro-landscapes over 2007-2019 in North China Plain. An 80% reduction in Bt cotton was mirrored in a 1.9-fold increase of ambient H. armigera population levels, culminating in 1.5-2.1-fold higher yield loss and a 2.0-4.4-fold increase in pesticide use frequency in non-Bt crops (i.e. maize, peanut, soybean

SUBMITTER: Lu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8753353 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature