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Title:
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Abundance of non-target pests in transgenic Bt-maize: a farm scale study
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Author:
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Pons i Domènech, Xavier; Lumbierres i Bardají, Belén; López Alonso, Carmen; Albajes Garcia, Ramon
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Notes:
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The impact of transgenic Bt-maize, expressing the Cry1Ab protein, on aphids, leafhoppers, cutworms and wireworms was
evaluated at the farm scale by comparing their abundance on Bt-plots and those sown with the isogenic variety over three consecutive
growing seasons. The impact of Bt-maize was different on each of the three-herbivore groups. There were significantly more
aphids on the Bt-maize but in terms of aphid species, the difference was only statistically significant for Sitobion avenae and not for
the other three most abundant species (Metopolophium dirhodum, Rhopalosiphum padi and Macrosiphum euphorbiae). The analysis
of aphid age structure showed consistently more individuals on Bt-plots; differences were significant for alates, apterous adults and
young nymphs of R. padi, apterous adults and apterous fourth instar nymphs of S. avenae, alates, apterous adults and apterous fourth
instar nymphs of M. dirhodum. Leafhoppers (Zyginidia scutellaris), particularly mature nymphs, were also more abundant on the Btmaize.
In spite of this there was no difference in leafhopper damage to Bt and non Bt-maize. The reasons for this are unclear but may
be due to changes in Bt-maize that favoured aphids and leafhoppers. Differences in aphid and leafhopper densities were not high
enough to affect yield. However, they may have affected the availability of prey for polyphagous predators such as Orius sp. The Btmaize
did not affect the incidence of cutworms (Agrotis segetum) or wireworms (Agriotes lineatus). These results indicate that Btmaize
does not have a negative impact on the non-target maize biocenosis at the farm scale.
This research was funded by the Spanish Government (Ministry of Science and Technology (MCYT)), project number AGF99-0782. |
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Subject(s):
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-Bt-maize
-Non-target species
-Aphids
-Leafhoppers |
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Rights:
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cc-by (c) Czech Academy of Sciences. Institute of Entomology of the Biology Centre, 2005
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/
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Document type:
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article
publishedVersion |
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Published by:
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Czech Academy of Sciences. Institute of Entomology of the Biology Centre
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