The cotton jassid is a brand new pest for U.S. cotton growers but India has been dealing with it for years, which makes that country a good source for ways to control it, including plant breeding.
Roy Cantrell, Wheelertex Consulting, has spent the past ten years consulting in India and he shared some of his insights at the recent Beltwide Cotton Improvement Conference. “So we’ve been seeing over the last decade a real decrease in effectiveness of insecticide applications, the insects developing resistant to chemicals that are used repeatedly. So seed companies like the one I work with, are developing genetic resistance. It’s not biotech, it’s not GMO, it’s through breeding.”
Cantrell says they have been successful in developing resistant seed for the farmer in India. “And so I’m confident that that can occur in the U.S.(but) it’s not going to be quick,” he said.
Learn more in this interview from Beltwide.
Roy Cantrell, Wheelertex Consulting - interview 4:55