Bt cotton

"Biotech cottonseed is no panacea for insect control" -Sam Dryden, CEO of Emergent Genetics (Seed World, 15:10)

The letters "Bt" stand for Bacillus thuringiensis, a toxin-producing bacterium found naturally in soils. Scientists have isolated certain genes responsible for the production of these toxins and have then used genetic engineering techniques to insert them into cotton. The resulting cotton plants produce the Bt toxins and susceptible pests die when they eat them. In 2002, Bt cotton was cultivated on 4.6 million hectares around the world, roughly 13% of the total cotton acreage. Almost the entire global acreage of Bt cotton is currently sown to Monsanto's "Bollgard" variety. This company has developed a second Bt cotton variety, "Bollgard II", which produces two different toxins. In 2004, Dow Agro-sciences plans to introduce "Widestrike", another Bt cotton producing two toxins, while Syngenta is trying to introduce its Bt cotton, "VIP Cotton". Bt cotton is a critical technology in the biotech industry's efforts to push GM agriculture around the world.

For an up-to-date list of commercial releases and field trials of Bt cotton around the world see the right-hand side of this page.