farmersgrowingBtmaize,is to
planta refugeareaofnon-GM
maizeadjacenttotheprimary
cropofBtmaize.Thisrefuge
areawillnaturallyharbour
maizestalkborerandother
insectpeststhatarenotresistant
toBtmaize.ManyBt-resistant
insectpestsintheprimarycrop
ofBtmaizewillmatewiththe
non-Bt-resistantinsectpests
andproduceoffspringthatare
alsonotresistanttoBtmaize.
Thiswillsignificantlyreduce
andweakenpopulationsof
Bt-resistantinsectpests.
thelaw
Stringentlegalrequirements
pertaintowhen,whereand
howtheserefugeareasmustbe
planted,andPringlebelieves
thatadherencetothesewill
increasinglybeheavilypoliced.
Whileallrequirements
forrefugeareasaresetout
intheBtmaizegrower’s
guide,themostimportant
ofthesearethefollowing:- Thehybridsmustbeofa
similargrowth/maturityclass
tothatoftheBtmaize. - Thehybridsmustbeplanted
withinsevendaysofthe
Btmaize,andunderthesame
agronomicconditions;if the
Btmaize is irrigated, the refuge
crop must also be irrigated. - A farmer’s refuge area must be
adjacent to his or her own Bt maize
crop. Relying on a neighbour’s
refuge area is not permitted. - While it is highly advisable
to surround an entire land of
Bt maize with a refuge area,
a refuge area spanning each
of the two longest sides of a
Bt maize land is permitted. - No part of a Bt maize
crop may be more than
400m from a refuge area. - A refuge area may not
comprise fewer than six
rows of non-Bt maize.
CROPS Pest Control in Maize
BELOW:
According to
Bayer Southern
Africa, thousands
of hectaresof
Bt maize with
MON89034
technologyhave
been planted
in South Africa
since 2011.
Bayer Southernafrica- Rows of maize in refuge areas
may not cross rows of Bt maize. - Non-Bt maize seed
may not be mixed and
planted simultaneously
with Bt maize seed.
“Following these requirements
willgoa longwaytowards
preservingtheefficacyof
theBttrait,” says Pringle.
He adds that during the
production season of Bt maize
crops, farmers should scout
their lands every three or four
days for insect pest infestation.
Du Toit urges farmers to report
any infestation in a MON89034
Bt maize hybrid to a seed sales
representativeorbroker.
A seed sales representative is
legally obliged to work with the
farmer to compile and submit a
product performance incident
report to the seed company.
An emergency insecticide
spray programme will then be
developed and implemented on
the affected Bt maize crops at
the seed company’s expense.
“Where Bt maize is grown
in seasonal rotation with
other crops, [and] the farmer
sees volunteer maize plants
germinating amongst the
rotation crops, these should
immediately be pulled out
manually or killed with an
appropriate chemical to prevent
them from being hosts to insect
pests that could possibly be
Bt-resistant,”saysPringle.- PhoneMagdaduToiton
011790 8254, or email her
at [email protected].
Visitbayer.co.zaor dekalb.co.za. - PhoneGrantPringleon
071678 1511, or email him at
[email protected].
Visit pannar.com. ▪FW
38 farmer’sweekly 23 August 2019
a farmer must
establish his/
her own refuge
area; using a
ne igh bour’ s is
not permitted