Integrated Pest Management and the effects of transgenic cotton on insect communities in Australia: lessons from the past and future directions.

M. E. A. Whitehouse, L. J. Wilson, G. P. Fitt, G. A. Constable

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference proceeding contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Transgenic Bt cotton has impacted on the Australian cotton industry by largely controlling Lepidopteran pests and contributing to a major reduction in insecticide applications. As a consequence it has strongly supported the development of IPM in Australia. Nevertheless, because of the dominance of Bt cotton, it is important to ascertain what changes have occurred in the invertebrate community because any change may require adjustments to crop management that could impact on the greater community. In our studies of Australian transgenic crops we have found no consistent difference in the diversity or species richness of the beneficial communities in unsprayed Bt and conventional crops, and crop type accounted for about 5% of the variance between these communities. The most consistent differences were higher numbers in conventional crops of Lepidoptera (as expected), Chloropidae and Nabis kinbergii. Some initial findings also indicated that the application of broad-spectrum insecticides in Bt crops (used to control sucking pests) can sometimes flare mites more quickly in Bt than conventional cotton. Therefore, our conclusion is that the positive effect of insecticidal transgenic cotton reducing insecticide applications overshadows the slight differences between transgenic and conventional communities. We discuss the relationship between transgenic cotton and IPM in Australia, and future directions that these technologies may take.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on Biological Control of Arthropods
EditorsPeter G. Mason, David R. Gillespie, Charles Vincent
Place of PublicationMorgantown, WV
PublisherUSDA Forest Service
Pages161-172
Number of pages12
Publication statusPublished - 2008
Externally publishedYes
Event3rd International Symposium on Biological Control of Arthropods - Christchurch, New Zealand
Duration: 8 Feb 200913 Feb 2009

Conference

Conference3rd International Symposium on Biological Control of Arthropods
Country/TerritoryNew Zealand
CityChristchurch
Period8/02/0913/02/09

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