TC1507 maize bioefficacy against Indian pests

Maize (corn) is the third most important crop in India, annually grown on 7-8 million hectares and the input hybrid seed business is estimated to be ~ 90 million USD for the year closing 2009. Spotted stem borer (Chilo partellus Swin.) is a major pest of maize in India, with estimated yield losses ranging from 25 to 80 % (Sarup, 1980). Initial profiling of TC1507 indicated potential value to maize farmers for effective control of Chilo partellus in India. With this background, transgenic maize lines of event TC1507 containing Cry1F gene was imported into India and tested for its efficacy under contained greenhouse conditions.