GUEST APPEARANCE: Using modern biotechnology to manage insect pests – Finger Lakes Times

Advances in modern biotechnology have helped generate techniques for curing diseases and improving lives. These same advances are leading to new tools to manage insect pests in a more effective and environmentally friendly manner.

The tiny diamondback moth is one of the worlds worst agricultural pests. This destructive insect is not native to New York state and is a major problem for farmers here, ravaging plants of the brassica family such as economically important vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, kale and cauliflower. The caterpillars chew on leaves and can kill young plants or make the vegetables unmarketable. The global damages caused by the diamondback moth are estimated to cost up to $5 billion each year.

To battle these invaders, farmers typically use insecticides, which prompts concern about worker safety, environmental impact and potentially harmful effects on important pollinators, like honeybees.

As scientists, we seek more effective alternatives.

For more than 150 years, Cornells College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) has worked on behalf of the people of New York state to use purpose-driven science to tackle these challenges by developing and evaluating emerging technologies. One emerging, insecticide-free technology we are evaluating is a pest control method developed by scientists at a British company called Oxitec.

The concept behind this strategy is to leverage the natural mating instincts of male insects to reduce the pest populations. Similar strategies have been used since the 1950s and were endorsed in Rachel Carsons 1962 book Silent Spring that launched the modern environmental movement. Oxitecs current technology uses the same concept but refines it with the tools of modern biotechnology. In the case of the diamondback moth, Oxitecs genetically engineered males mate with wild females who then lay eggs on the crops, but the emerging female larvae do not survive to adulthood and therefore are unable to reproduce. Thus, the pest population declines without the use of insecticides.

More research is needed for this particular tool and others that are under development that hold promise for more sustainable and environmentally friendly pest management. Entomologists at Cornell have the level of expertise in insect biology and pest management needed to develop and independently evaluate the technology.

Research conducted in our greenhouses and outdoor cages in 2015 provided evidence for the effectiveness of this bio-based technology against the diamondback moth and justifies additional research. Outdoor cages, although providing useful information about insect behavior, do not provide the real-world environment needed to fully assess the technology.

Research is now needed in an open field setting that replicates the actual environment where farmers battle the insects. As such, the next step in the research cycle is an experimental release of the moths in a remote cabbage field at the Geneva campus this summer. Specifically, we need to know how these insects are going to move, how well they will survive, and how effectively they will mate with females, which are important measurements that demonstrate how well they will be able to reduce a pest population in future.

The moths have been genetically engineered and, based on evidence collected and a thorough evaluation by independent experts, there is no indication that these modifications pose a risk to humans or other animals, even if somehow ingested.

We have already examined the question of whether the moths will fly away from the research field. Weve created an isolated habitat for the test insects with plenty of cabbage, a food they love and do not abandon when its plentiful. Furthermore, this insect is short-lived and cannot survive Upstate New York winters.

To provide proper oversight, Cornell applied for a permit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture before proceeding with the trials a process that required an Environmental Assessment and a 30-day public comment period before the permit was finally approved. The USDA reviewed potential risks of the field trials and found that this project will have no significant impact to human health or to the environment. Approvals from Cornells Institutional Biosafety Committee and CALS leadership were also required to proceed.

This research opens new doors for the future of farming with pest control methods that are non-toxic and pesticide-free. Entomologists at Cornell and other institutions believe that this science has great potential to effectively manage invasive pest populations, even beyond the diamondback moth, in an environmentally friendly way.

We invite all members of the local community to learn more about this project at a public forum hosted by Cornell University. Join us at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Stations Jordan Hall Auditorium, 630 West North St., Geneva. For more information and to submit your questions or comments in advance of the public forum, please visit http://shelton.entomology.cornell.edu/.

Jan Nyrop is professor of entomology and interim director at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva. Tony Shelton is professor of entomology with expertise in the diamondback moth and insect pest management who has dedicated his 38-year career at Cornell University to finding solutions to this persistent pest, and other pests, faced by farmers in New York and around the world.

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GUEST APPEARANCE: Using modern biotechnology to manage insect pests - Finger Lakes Times