Crop-devouring armyworms are showing increasing resistance in some U.S. farm fields to a popular type of genetically modified crop that should kill them, scientists said on Monday.
The evolution of insect resistance “is a great threat” long- term to the sustainability of the GMO crop biotechnology that has become a highly valued tool for many U.S. farmers, according to Fangneng Huang, an entomologist at Louisiana State University (LSU) and lead researcher for a three-year study.
The research documents resistance by fall armyworms in the southeastern United States to the Cry1F protein found in many corn products developed Dow AgroSciences and DuPont to fight off the destructive pests.
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The GMO corn at issue contains Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) genes. Bt corn, popular with farmers throughout the Americas, has been on the market roughly 18 years. Newer types of Bt corn with multiple modes of action are still showing effectiveness, Huang said.
Read the full, original article: Armyworm resistance to GMO crops seen in U.S. study
