IPM pays off for team players as GM hits problems

According to 'Cotton World'(Australia), large plantings of Monsanto's Ingard GM cotton in Australia in recent years have led to concerns about insect resistance to Bt.

In order to try and maintain the efficacy of the technology Australian growers could soon face independent audits of their pupae-busting activities as part of the resistance management strategy for Ingard varieties.

Meanwhile, 'Innovate Australia' (representing Australia's food, fibre and natural resources research and development corporations) reports steadily increasing levels of pesticide applications on Ingard Bt cotton following the initial substantial
reductions (see: http://www.innovateaustralia.com/summer00/crdc.html ).

Despite its on-going enthusiasm for Ingard Bt cotton Innovate Australia concludes that:
"Economic benefits for growers from the new technology have been variable but generally only small when compared to conventional cotton".

These comments make an interesting contrast with the substantially improved financial margins some Australian farmers are now achieving with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) methods compared to conventional cotton management (see article below):

"What these surveys are showing is that there doesn't seem to be much relationship between yield and dollars spent on pest management. When you compare IPM fields with conventional management, IPM is coming out in front by up to a few hundred dollars per hectare", Bruce Pyke, research and extension manager for the Cotton Research and Development Corporation.

NLPWESSEX

Cotton World
IPM pays off for team players

Fri 27 Apr 2001 - Staff writer: Donald Turner [extracts]

INTEGRATING pest management as a group is paying off in improved profit margins for Australian cotton growers.

More growers are combining the disciplines of integrated pest management (IPM) programs with area-wide management groups for mutual benefit........

Integrated pest management encourages growers to make use of natural predators by delaying or eliminating applications of broad-spectrum sprays such as pyrethroids and organophosphates....

The results of this survey, and others like it, encourage those who believe sustainable cotton production depends on the extension of this management approach.

"What these surveys are showing is that there doesn't seem to be much relationship between yield and dollars spent on pest management. When you compare IPM fields with conventional management, IPM is coming out in front by up to a few hundred dollars per hectare", Bruce Pyke, research and extension manager for the Cotton Research and Development
Corporation........

FULL ARTICLE @
http://www.cottonworld.com.au/cworld/index.php3?type=2001_04_27_1&directory=archives&insert=view.inc&title=Story6

'Will GM Crops Deliver Benefits To Farmers?'
www.nlpwessex.org/docs/gmagric.htm

USDA Report Exposes GM Crop Economics Myth
www.nlpwessex.org/docs/usdagmeconomics.htm

More USDA Data On Rising Pesticide Applications On GM Crops
www.nlpwessex.org/docs/benbrook.htm

The Fundamental Scientific Error
Of Pursuing Transgenics Before Competency In Genomics
www.nlpwessex.org/docs/genomicsparadigm.htm

Solution To The GM Debate? - 'The Acceptable Face Of Ag-biotech'
www.nlpwessex.org/docs/monsantomaspossibilities.htm