Management of Resurging Arthropod Pests on Bt Cotton in Pakistan

Cotton is produced in 125 countries, the resulting lint is used either domestically or exported as a textile raw material. Pakistan produces ~10 million bales of cotton lint and ranks 4^th among cotton producing countries in the world. Cotton is widely grown in Pakistan and is an important cash crop in the country’s economy. Insect pests of cotton in Pakistan represent the greatest arthropod pest diversity in the entire region. The estimated lint yield losses due to insect pests to Pakistani cotton range from 20-40%. A variety of insect pests attack the cotton crop from germination through crop maturity. Recent resurging insect pests of Pakistani cotton which cause severe damage are Bemisia tabaci, Amrasca biguttula, Thrips tabaci, Helicoverpa armigera and Pectinophora gossypiella. Some of these pests have developed resistance to Bt cotton. This presentation highlights our current effort in developing integrated pest management approaches for Pakistan’s major cotton insect pests, particularly in light of insect resistance to Bt technology.