Benefits of GM corn may extend to variety of crops
Researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) have pulled together 40 years of data to quantify the effects of Bt corn, a genetically modified corn variety, in a new large-scale study.
Researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) have pulled together 40 years of data to quantify the effects of Bt corn, a genetically modified corn variety, in a new large-scale study. Other studies have demonstrated the benefits of Bt corn adoption on pest management for pests like the corn borer in corn itself for years, but this is the first study to look at the effects on other offsite crops in North America. By gaining control of the corn borer population, this study shows significant decreases in recommended spraying regimens, pest populations, and overall crop damage not just for corn, but for peppers, green beans, and other important crops to North American agriculture. The study was published in Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences.
Bt corn was first introduced and adopted in the United States in 1996 and is a genetically modified organism (GMO) that makes up more than 90% of the current U.S. corn population. In this study, Galen Dively, professor emeritus and integrated pest management consultant in the Dept. of Entomology, and Dilip Venugopal, UMD research associate, use data from 1976–2016 to look at trends 20 years before and 20 years after adoption of Bt corn.
Using numbers from pest traps to estimate the population and examine the recommended spraying regimens for pests like the corn borer, Dively and Venugopal observed significant reductions in the population, with much less spraying occurring over time. “There would be no recommendation to spray for the corn borer given the current population, and this paper can trace that back to Bt corn adoption,” said Dively. “What’s more, by looking at the actual pest infestations and damage on actual crops over 40 years of data, we took it a step farther to see the benefits on all sorts of crops and the declines in the actual pest population. We are able to see the results in theory and in practice on actual crops and in the real pest population over a long stretch of time.”
“This study ultimately shows the importance of evaluating GMO crops beyond the field that is being planted,” concluded Dively. “These products and the new advances coming down the pike have the potential to suppress major pest populations just like Bt corn has. This is just the beginning, and we need to be quantifying these effects. I am excited by these results and encouraged for future work.”