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Regulation of the seasonal population patterns of Helicoverpa armigera moths by Bt cotton planting

Transgenic Research volume 19, pages 557–562 (2010)Cite this article

Abstract

Transgenic cotton expressing the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry1Ac toxin has been commercially cultivated in China since 1997, and by 2000 Bt cotton had almost completely replaced non-transgenic cotton cultivars. To evaluate the impact of Bt cotton planting on the seasonal population patterns of cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, the dynamics of H. armigera moths were monitored with light traps from four locations (Xiajin, Linqing and Dingtao of Shandong Province; Guantao of Hebei Province) in high Bt density region and five locations (Anci and Xinji of Hebei Province; Dancheng and Fengqiu of Henan Province; Gaomi of Shandong Province) in low Bt density region from 1996 to 2008. A negative correlation was found between moth densities of H. armigera and the planting years of Bt cotton in both high and low Bt density areas. These data indicate that the moth population density of H. armigera was reduced with the introduction of Bt cotton in northern China. Three generations of moths occurred between early June and late September in the cotton regions. Interestingly, second-generation moths decreased and seemed to vanish in recent years in high Bt density region, but this tendency was not found in low Bt density region. The data suggest that the planting of Bt cotton in high Bt density region was effective in controlling the population density of second-generation moths. Furthermore, the seasonal change of moth patterns associated with Bt cotton planting may regulate the regional occurrence and population development of this migratory insect.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Zhengqing Yu (Agriculture Bureau of Linqing County), Dianping Yu (Agriculture Bureau of Xiajin County), Zhijie Feng (Station of Plant Protection of Xinxiang) and Zhishen Wang (Station of Plant Protection of Fengqiu) for supplying the data from the light trap used in this study. We also thank Dr. Brenda Oppert (USDA-ARS) for her valuable comments on the manuscript revision. The research was supported by financial assistance from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30625028), the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (973 Grant No. 2006CB102004) and the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture (2008ZX08012-004).

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Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100193, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Yu-lin Gao & Kong-ming Wu

  2. Institute of Plant Protection, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, 450002, People’s Republic of China

    Hong-qiang Feng

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  1. Yu-lin Gao
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  2. Hong-qiang Feng
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Correspondence to Kong-ming Wu.

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Gao, Yl., Feng, Hq. & Wu, Km. Regulation of the seasonal population patterns of Helicoverpa armigera moths by Bt cotton planting. Transgenic Res 19, 557–562 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11248-009-9337-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11248-009-9337-1

Keywords

  • Helicoverpa armigera
  • Population dynamics
  • Light trapping
  • Bt cotton