Reduction of damage caused by Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn. in south-eastern Poland in 2007through the cultivation of transgenic maize varieties

Abstract: The objective of the study carried out in 2007 was to evaluate the susceptibility ofselected varieties of Bt-transgenic maize (DKC3421YG and Bacilla; transformation event MON810) and their conventional types without the Cry1Ab protein (DKC3420 and Clarica) to damagecaused by the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis Hbn.) under the conditions of south-easternPoland. The study confirmed the high resistance of the Bt maize varieties to damage caused bythe caterpillars of this moth. The use of Bt varieties allowed the average reduction of damagedplants in location A (Podkarpackie voivodeship) by 95.2% and damaged cobs by 98.1%. Inlocation B (Lubelskie voivodeship) the number of transgenic plants damaged by caterpillars wasreduced by 99.4% and that of cobs by 98.9%. In addition, the level of plant damage was lower:for Bt plants, i.e. the plants hosted significantly lower numbers of caterpillars, and a lowernumber of holes gnawed by them was observed in comparison to the corresponding nontransformedcontrol maize varieties.