Testing public Bt maize events for control of stem borers in the first confined field trials in Kenya
Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: Transgenic maize (Zea mays L), developed using modified genes from the bacterium Bacillus \nthuringiensis (Bt), controls stem borers without observable negative effects to humans, livestock or \nthe environment, and is now sown on 134 million hectares globally. Bt maize could contribute to \nincreasing maize production in Kenya. Nine public Bt maize events of cry1Ab and cry1Ba genes were \ntested in confined field trials site (CFTs) to assess the control of four major Kenyan stem borer \nspecies. Leaf damage rating, number of exit holes and tunnel length were scored in the field \nevaluations. Leaf area consumed and mortality rates among stem borers were scored in the leaf \nbioassays in a Biosafety Level II laboratory, located at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute \n(KARI), National Agricultural Research Laboratories (NARL). Field evaluations showed that Bt maize \ncontrolled Chilo partellus with mean damage scores of 1.2 against 2.7 for the non-Bt CML216 control. \nLaboratory bioassays showed high control for Eldana saccharina and Sesamia calamistis, with mean \nlarval mortality of 64 and 92%, respectively. However, substantial control was not observed for \nBusseola fusca. These results showed that Bt maize could control three of the four major stem borers \nin Kenya with mortality records of 52.7% for B. fusca, 62.3% for E. saccharina and 85.8% for S. \ncalamistis. Additional Bt genes need to be sought and tested for effective stem borer control in all \nmaize growing ecologies in Kenya.
Institution: CGIAR
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2120636435