Effects of transgenic maize expressing the Cry1Ab protein (event MON810) on locally adapted earthworms in a sandy loam soil in the Central Eastern Cape, South Africa
This paper is relevant to the impact areas in the following areas:
Abstract or Summary
This field study investigated effects of growing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) maize (MON810) on local earthworms in the Central Eastern Cape, South Africa. Two Bt maize cultivars (DKC61-25B and PAN6Q-
321B) and their near-isolines (DKC61-24 and PAN6777) were grown in the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 summer seasons. Earthworms were sampled after six, nine and eighteen weeks in 2009/2010 and after
six, twelve and twenty-one weeks in the 2010/2011 season. The four maize treatments had similar earthworm counts, irrespective of sampling time, in both seasons. Sampling time had no effect in the
2009/2010 season, whereas the earthworm counts at 21 weeks after planting (WAP) were lower than the other two sampling times during the 2010/2011 season. The findings suggested that, at least in the
short-term, growing Bt maize does not have negative effects on the numbers of the earthworms in the Central Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Download
Effects of transgenic maize expressing the Cry1Ab protein (event MON810) on locally adapted earthworms in a sandy loam soil in the Central Eastern Cape, South Africa (held on an external server, and so may require additional authentication details)
CropLife International fully acknowledges the source and authors of the publication as detailed above.