Managing for Profit

DuPont Pioneer recommends scouting for western bean cutworm

DuPont Pioneer says its Cry1F trait, Herculex I Bt, no longer protects corn against the western bean cutworm.

Michigan State University Entomologist Chris DiFonzo tells Brownfield the Cry1F trait is a corn borer toxin, not a western bean cutworm toxin.  She says there was little data about its performance with western bean cutworm before an increasing number of acres were planted to that trait.

DuPont Pioneer Scientific Affairs Director Clint Pilcher acknowledges a decrease in susceptibility among western bean cutworm populations.  He tells Brownfield that farmers should not depend on the Cry1F trait for control and that they need to scout for the pest.

Pioneer removed from its website all references to control or suppression of western bean cutworm for products that include the Herculex I trait.

AUDIO: Chris DiFonzo (3 min. MP3)