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Assessment of the effects of transgenic Bt cotton B ollgard II on the abundance of nontarget arthropods in B urkina F aso
Author(s) -
Héma Omer S. A.,
Ouédraogo Issoufou,
Traoré Oumar,
Zagré Blaise K.,
Ouattara Delphine
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
agricultural and forest entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.755
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1461-9563
pISSN - 1461-9555
DOI - 10.1111/afe.12232
Subject(s) - biology , bacillus thuringiensis , abundance (ecology) , genetically engineered , microbiology and biotechnology , zoology , ecology , genetics , gene , bacteria
Abstract The effect of transgenic cotton Bollgard II on the abundance of nontarget arthropods was assessed under field conditions in three areas in B urkina F aso for four successive years (2010–2013). The experiment was carried out on two 0.5‐ha plots of which one was seeded with the B ollgard II and one with the non‐ B acillus thuringiensis Berliner ( Bt ) isogenic cultivar. Over four collection methods [plastic bagging (28 collections), water trap (28 collections), b eat cloth (six collections) and p itfall t raps (six collections)] and 4 years, no statistically significant differences were detected between B ollgard II and the conventional control for 45 out of 48 comparisons. Differences detected were rather random and not consistently detected across collection methods, sites and/or years. Thus, these differences were not indicative of a consistent response associated with the trait and are not considered biologically meaningful in terms of an adverse environmental impact (nontarget arthropod abundance) of B ollgard II compared to conventional cotton receiving six insecticide sprays.