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Royal Paulownia: A Potential Refuge for Lepidoptera

C.D. Parker, Jr.


ABSTRACT

The adoption of transgenic cotton plants expressing delta endotoxin of Bacillus thuringiensis has greatly aided the ability to control major lepidopteran pests of cotton, particularly Heliothis virescens caterpillars that are resistant to conventional insecticide treatments. Resistance management plans have been implemented to provide a refuge for susceptible caterpillar larvae in hopes to delay the development of resistance to the transgenic cotton plants. Current resistance management plans use non-transgenic cotton as the refuge. This study demonstrates that a tree belonging to the genus Paulownia serves as a host to several of the major Lepidopteran pests of cotton, particularly Heliothis virescens and Helicoverpa zea. Preliminary data show that larval production per acre in dense plantings of Paulownia trees (38 in grids) is at least 2.7 times that of untreated cotton offering a new potential refuge for production of susceptible larvae.





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Document last modified May 20, 2002