Farmers Turn to Pesticide as Insects Resist Genetically Modified Crops
Corn rootworm. (Getty)Genetically modified seeds were supposed to liberate corn farmers from using pesticide to combat rootworms. But as the insects adapt, farmers are having to adapt—by spraying their fields with chemicals.
It’s not just the cicadas. The Wall Street Journal reports there’s a more significant insect threat being posed to America: rootworms.
The
bugs, which have the capability to decimate corn and grain crops, have
become a more manageable problem in recent years. That’s because
companies like Monsanto have developed genetically modified seeds that
produce rootworm-killing toxins—without harming humans. (Here’s
Monsanto’s rootworm page.)
Thanks to the widespread adoption of such seeds, farmers have been
spraying their crops with insecticide less frequently. “Today, according
to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, two-thirds of all corn grown in
the U.S. includes a rootworm-targeting gene known as Bt,” the Journal reports.
But
if you’ve read your Darwin, you’ll know that species have been known to
adapt to circumstances. And that seems to be happening in the corn
fields. Some rootworms apparently were immune to the nasty stuff in the
seeds. And they have been reproducing. The upshot? Farmers are bringing
back the chemicals. In addition to purchasing the rootworm-proof seeds,
they’re now having to start using insecticides. Companies like Syngenta, which makes soil insecticides for corn crops, are reporting booming sales.
Genetically
modified crops have been touted as a solution to many of the woes
afflicting agriculture. The theory was that scientists could rearrange
the chemical makeup of crops so that they could resists the perils posed
by drought, or heat, or pestilence. But while you can fool nature for a
while, it’s apparently difficult to do so over the long term.
Source: http://www.thedailybeast.com/features/sustainabeast.html
Source: http://www.thedailybeast.com/features/sustainabeast.html
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