CRW refuges help prevent resistance
Nov 20, 2009
Caydee Savinelli
Currently, the EPA requires that growers who use traited corn hybrids include some conventional corn nearby for insect resistance management. Why is a refuge needed?
Refuges help maintain rootworm genetics that have never been exposed to Bt. If non-exposed populations breed with exposed populations, we may delay resistance, according to some entomologists. Refuges are designed to prevent a “survival of the fittest” situation where rootworm populations shift to those carrying a higher level of Bt tolerance.
Of course, refuge acres still need corn rootworm protection, and
growers have found options for those acres.
