Existing Bt Use Patterns in the Midwest

Paul Cherubini paulcher at concentric.net
Thu May 27 18:01:39 EDT 1999


I think many of us (myself included) need to consider how little we
actually know of existing Bt use in the Midwest as most of us do not
live there and farm corn. Consider the information I just received from
Dorothia Rohner, the wife of a corn geneticist based in Iowa. Apparently
grannular forms of Bt have been in widespread use for some time.

Paul Cherubini, Placerville, California

Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 15:16:26 -0500 (CDT)
From: Dorothia Rohner <rohner at gate-goliath.eai.com>
Subject: Bt continued...

I wanted  to follow up a bit on the Bt discussion.  Paul, I had my
husband who is a corn genetisist read your response to the Bt issue and
he felt that you made very many good and interesting points. One thing
that he
mentioned was that the U.S. government only allows 50% of the corn
planted to be Bt corn.  This is to insure that the european corn borer
moth doesn't become resistent.

Also, the biggest infestation problems with the corn borer are in
the western states of the corn belt.  Growers usually only plant the Bt
corn if the infestations are extreme over 50% of the time (because the
Bt
corn seed is more expensive)

An interesting and peculiar thing that he told me was that the
insecticide that they use in Nebraska, and the other more western
states, is Bt. They use it in a granular form and broadcast it on the
fields!


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