Pest Management for Transgenic Cotton in Developing Countries: A Troubled Strategy

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Abstract Cotton is an economically important crop in many developing regions but arthropod pests cause enormous losses. Frequent application of synthetic insecticides resulted in pest resistance rendering cotton production unprofitable in many countries. The introduction of transgenic cotton around 1995 resulted in major profit increases, due to reduced need for pesticides and increased yields. Realizing that pest populations may become resistant to novel management approaches, cotton growers in Australia and the USA adopted pre-emptive resistance management strategies (RMSs). These were mostly based on planting refuge crops and on cultural control tactics. Subsequently, transgenic cotton with two or more genes modified (gene pyramiding) also became part of crop protection strategies. A major reason for the success of transgenic cotton in these developed countries was more than 90% farmer compliance to management guidelines. However, in other countries, including Pakistan, equivalent science-based RMSs were neither developed nor adopted. This resulted in the emergence of resistance in pests, notably the pink bollworm ( Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders, 1844)), a typically monophagous pest, and a steep decline in the area under cotton cultivation. Here we discuss how developing countries can revive cotton production via the adoption of suitable pest management practices that can operate successfully within local societal contexts. Information © The Authors 2026

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