Cairo, Egypt
August 31, 2007
Source:
CropBiotech Update
Egyptian agriculture can benefit from the use of Bt maize. "In
the absence of a clear planting date strategy, the relative poor
performance of conventional chemical control, and the high and
uniform efficacy of Bt maize on all three Egypt’s maize stalk
borers, Egyptian maize production would likely benefit greatly
from the adoption of Bt maize, and deserves close consideration,
" concludes Dr. Magdy Massoud, from the Faculty of Agriculture
at Saba Basha, University of Alexandria, Egypt.
Massoud conducted a field trial to study the effect of
conventional pesticides and Bt maize hybrids on the maize borers
in Egypt. He found that pesticide treatment had a modest
influence, at best, in controlling damage by the three
stalk-boring species only at the seedling and flowering stages.
"In sharp contrast to pesticide treatment, the Bt maize hybrids
exhibited nearly complete protection from damage by the borer
species. The infestations of these borers were negligible or
completely prevented in Bt plants throughout the whole season
for all sowing dates".
The study concluded that the range of infestation reduction was
90-100% for Bt hybrids. In damaged Bt maize plants, the lesion
consisted of evidence of failed attempts of larvae to bore
inside the plant. In these instances however, no larvae, alive
or dead, were found within stalks.
For more information please contact
Dr. Magdy Massoud or
Dr. Ismail AbdelHamid,
Egypt Biotechnology Center director. |
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