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Testing public Bt maize events for control of stem borers in the first confined field trials in Kenya

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/68/
http://www.academicjournals.org/AJB/PDF/pdf2011/1JunConf/Mugo%20et%20al.pdf
 
Title Testing public Bt maize events for control of stem
borers in the first confined field trials in Kenya
 
Creator Mugo, S N
Mwimali, M
Taracha, C O
Songa, J M
Gichuki, S T
Tende, R
Karaya, H
Pellegrineschi, A
Hoisington, D A
 
Subject Maize
 
Description Transgenic maize (Zea mays L), developed using modified genes from the bacterium Bacillus
thuringiensis (Bt), controls stem borers without observable negative effects to humans, livestock or
the environment, and is now sown on 134 million hectares globally. Bt maize could contribute to
increasing maize production in Kenya. Nine public Bt maize events of cry1Ab and cry1Ba genes were
tested in confined field trials site (CFTs) to assess the control of four major Kenyan stem borer
species. Leaf damage rating, number of exit holes and tunnel length were scored in the field
evaluations. Leaf area consumed and mortality rates among stem borers were scored in the leaf
bioassays in a Biosafety Level II laboratory, located at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute
(KARI), National Agricultural Research Laboratories (NARL). Field evaluations showed that Bt maize
controlled Chilo partellus with mean damage scores of 1.2 against 2.7 for the non-Bt CML216 control.
Laboratory bioassays showed high control for Eldana saccharina and Sesamia calamistis, with mean
larval mortality of 64 and 92%, respectively. However, substantial control was not observed for
Busseola fusca. These results showed that Bt maize could control three of the four major stem borers
in Kenya with mortality records of 52.7% for B. fusca, 62.3% for E. saccharina and 85.8% for S.
calamistis. Additional Bt genes need to be sought and tested for effective stem borer control in all
maize growing ecologies in Kenya.
 
Publisher Academic Publishers
 
Date 2011
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
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Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/68/1/Mugo%2520et%2520al.pdf
Mugo, S N and Mwimali, M and Taracha, C O and Songa, J M and Gichuki, S T and Tende, R and Karaya, H and Pellegrineschi, A and Hoisington, D A (2011) Testing public Bt maize events for control of stem borers in the first confined field trials in Kenya. African Journal of Biochemistry Research, 10 (23). pp. 4713-4718.