Gg. Kennedy et Me. Whalon, MANAGING PEST RESISTANCE TO BACILLUS-THURINGIENSIS ENDOTOXINS - CONSTRAINTS AND INCENTIVES TO IMPLEMENTATION, Journal of economic entomology, 88(3), 1995, pp. 454-460
Technological advances in combination with societal concerns over the
potential for adverse health and environmental effects of chemical pes
ticides are operating to increase the use of Bacillus thuringiensis en
dotoxins in crop protection. Accompanying this increased use will be a
n increase in the intensity of selection for endotoxin resistance in a
number of important pest species, To preserve the value of B. thuring
iensis endotoxins in crop protection, it will be necessary to implemen
t resistance management measures. This article analyzes the roles of p
est control crises, societal values. level of awareness about resistan
ce and resistance management, political action, economic consideration
s, competing technologies and products, and the difficulty of assessin
g the success of resistance management as constraints and incentives f
or the implementation of resistance management by the B. thuringiensis
industry and by end users of B. thuringiensis products. Based on this
analysis and a consideration of the attributes of new technologies th
at favor their ready adoption, we concluded that individual farmers ha
ve limited incentive to adopt resistance management technologies for B
. thuringiensis endotoxins, and that the greatest incentive lies with
the B. thuringiensis industry. However. the implementation of a coordi
nated, industry-wide, B. thuringiensis resistance management effort is
likely to be constrained by competition among segments of the B. thur
ingiensis industry vested in different technologies (sprays versus tra
nsgenic plants) and among producers of B. thuringiensis products using
the same technology. It is further concluded that successful implemen
tation of resistance management for B. thuringiensis endotoxins will l
ikely require that the B. thuringiensis industry prepackage resistance
management technologies with their products, and that these prepackag
ed resistance management strategies do not add significantly to the co
sts or complexity of pest control by the end user.