Insect resistance monitoring program for WideStrike™ cotton: 10 years of successful collaborations

Dow AgroSciences’ stewardship of cotton containing WideStrike™ Insect Protection includes monitoring of pest susceptibility to the Cry1Ac and Cry1F proteins.  Annual resistance monitoring has been conducted for tobacco budworm (Heliothis virescens) and cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa zea) for the US cotton belt since 2005.  A multistate collaboration with government and academic partners facilitates insect collections for testing using diet bioassay.  Monitoring results from the past 10 years have detected no instances of resistance to the Cry1Ac or Cry1F proteins.  The continued value of WideStrike ™ cotton demonstrates the success of pyramided products as part of an insect resistance management strategy.  Introduction of WideStrike™ 3 cotton to the US in 2014 further bolsters the pyramid strategy through the addition of the VIP3A protein targeting heliothine species.

¹WideStrike™ is a registered trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC.