Insect resistance management in the crosshairs

By Dick Hagen
The Land Staff Writer

December 07, 2007 03:24 am

— With trait technologies now an accepted fact in corn production, and as growers cover more and more acres, some seed industry officials have a growing concern about refuge usage for biotech corn.
Responding in the question and answer session below is Chet Boruff, CEO of the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies, headquartered at Moline, Ill.
Q: How important are insect resistance management programs within the corn industry?
Boruff: Producers who use Bt-protected corn and cotton varieties have seen large economic benefits, so it is important to maintain the long-term effectiveness of these traits. IRM strategies are required to guard against insects building a resistance to Bt traits.
There are some who would disagree with the need for IRM refuges, because they are not convinced that resistance will become a problem. Perhaps the jury is out on the matter of resistance, but there is strong scientific data to support that insect resistance can occur.
In addition, seeing that some weeds have developed resistance to Roundup because of its widespread use, who wants to risk the same thing happening with Bt technology and losing the benefit of Bt-protected crops in the future because refuges weren’t maintained?
Q: Are farmers getting careless? Are they willing to bend the rules just a bit assuming they won’t get caught?
Boruff: Overall, grower compliance rates with IRM requirements are very high. Some producers are not aware of the IRM requirement and, especially, some of the particular rules regarding what fields can be treated and where the refuge fields must be placed in relation to the Bt-planted fields.
In some cases, replanting or prevented plantings or simple mistakes cause a producer to be out of compliance with IRM requirements. There may be growers who intentionally fail to maintain their IRM refuges, but they are taking the risk of getting caught and aren’t doing any favors for themselves, or corn growers as a whole.
Q: What are the penalties if a violation is confirmed?
Boruff: There are no direct financial penalties for growers who violate IRM requirements. Every seed company that registers a Bt-protected product with (the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) is required to conduct an annual IRM assessment survey to determine how well its customers are complying with refuge requirements.
Growers to be surveyed are selected randomly from customer lists, and face-to-face meetings are held to complete a survey form. In some cases, the company receives tips that a grower is out of compliance and they follow up with a survey.
Growers found to be out of compliance are notified and provided information that will allow them to correct the non-compliance in the following season. They will be recalled the following season and, if found to be out of compliance again, the company may not sell the trait to them in the third season. That is the procedure outlined by U.S. EPA.
In the end, a grower does suffer an indirect penalty if they lose access to this important trait that helps them be competitive.
Q: What are the pesticide challenges?
Boruff: As growers buy “stacked” varieties, they are faced with pesticide treatment options that can be confusing, as to which fields can be treated and when. It is important that they study IRM guides provided by the seed company or consult with their seed dealer or an agronomist who is familiar with the requirements.
Q: What are the seed industry challenges?
Boruff: Some seed companies have told us that with the growing number of traits and possible combinations of them that can be in any one variety, it is a real challenge to anticipate what growers will be looking for and having the proper inventories to meet their needs.
Providing growers the information they need to understand and comply with IRM requirements is an on-going effort for the industry.
Q: Should a producer plant the “cheapest” seed in the refuge acres, or stay with the same lineup overall?
Boruff: In today’s competitive market, it is likely that most growers want to maximize their profit for each acre, even those that serve as their “refuge.” They have many good options to manage and treat these acres if necessary.
It is the grower’s choice, but I doubt that any of them would want to risk giving up profit on refuge acres when they have many good options in terms of conventional seed and insect treatments.
Q: What is the role of the Minnesota Crop Improvement Association in working with the seed industry on monitoring this issue?
Boruff: The MCIA is a member of the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies. AOSCA has an agreement with one of the large seed providers to conduct the IRM surveys on its behalf. When those IRM surveys are selected in Minnesota, our association assigns field staff to meet with the growers and complete the survey.
We also do what we can to make sure that growers in Minnesota understand their roles and responsibilities with IRM refuge strategies.
You can contact the AOSCA at www.aosca.org or (309) 736-0120. Contact the MCIA at www.mncia.org or (800) 510-6242.

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