Bio-solution · SG02 · Seeds & genetics
Insect-resistant (Bt) crop varieties — cotton, maize, soybean, eggplant — instead of broad-spectrum insecticide sprays against bollworms, stem borers and fruit borers
Replaces
Repeated organophosphate, carbamate and pyrethroid sprays against lepidopteran pests (Helicoverpa, pink bollworm, Ostrinia/Sesamia corn borers, fall armyworm, Leucinodes eggplant fruit and shoot borer)
Repeated organophosphate, carbamate and pyrethroid sprays against lepidopteran pests (Helicoverpa, pink bollworm, Ostrinia/Sesamia corn borers, fall armyworm, Leucinodes eggplant fruit and shoot borer)
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Scope
Commercial Bt crops where legally cultivated; refuge and resistance management
Commercial Bt crops where legally cultivated; refuge and resistance management
Suppliers 8
| Mahyco | India | active |
| Nuziveedu Seeds (NSL) | India | active |
| Rasi Seeds | India | active |
| Ankur Seeds Pvt Ltd | ||
| Origin Agritech (NASDAQ: SEED) | China | active |
| Hangzhou Ruifeng | China | active |
| Sementes Jotabasso | Brazil | active |
| RUSTICANA | Argentina | active |
Route into Russia / EAEU GM
- Regulator
- Rospotrebnadzor (GM food) / Rosselkhoznadzor (GM feed)
- Typical time
- cultivation banned
- Legal basis
- Cultivation and breeding of GM plants and animals banned (Federal Law 358-FZ, 2016); GM products for food and feed can be registered (Government Decree No. 35, 2023; registration valid up to 10 years)
Information, not legal advice — confirm the procedure for your product.
Proof 4 claims
Old process
Conventional cotton cultivation relying on broad-spectrum insecticide sprays (e.g., organophosphates) to control bollworms and other pests.
Conventional cotton cultivation relying on broad-spectrum insecticide sprays (e.g., organophosphates) to control bollworms and other pests.
→
New practice
Bt cotton (genetically modified cotton producing Bacillus thuringiensis toxins)
Bt cotton (genetically modified cotton producing Bacillus thuringiensis toxins)
- Displaced at scale?
- yes
- Caveats
- While Bt cotton initially reduced insecticide use, long-term data indicates that in some regions, such as India, farmers now spend more on pesticides than before the introduction of Bt due to the emergence of secondary pests and Bt resistance.
- Hand review
- D3 Global: Bt cotton cut insecticide active ingredient use by 94.5 million kg (1996–2005, USDA-ARS).
- checked
- 2026-10-06
| Bt cotton adoption in India led to a reduction in insecticide sprays from more than two dozen to 2-3 sprays per season. “On average, Bt cotton helped farmers to reduce insecticide sprays from more than two dozen (24) sprays to 2-3 sprays in a season.” India · 2002-2014 · large measured reduction of the old process | industry association ✓ www.isaaa.org |
| The quantity of insecticides used to control bollworm in India reduced by 96% between 2001 and 2011. “quantity of insecticides used to control bollworm reduced by 96% from 5748 metric tons of active ingredients in 2001 to as low as 222 metric tons of active ingredients in 2011.” India · 2001-2011 · large measured reduction of the old process | industry association ✓ www.isaaa.org |
| Bt cotton adoption in India increased cotton profits by 50% compared to conventional cotton. “The coefficients in column 3 indicate that Bt increases profit by 1,877 Rs per acre (38 US$), equivalent to a 50% profit gain over conventional cotton.” India · 2002-2008 · not applicable | weak (company, news, market research, other) ✓ www.pnas.org |
| Between 1996 and 2005, the deployment of Bt cotton reduced the volume of insecticide active ingredient used for pest control in cotton by 94.5 million kilograms globally. “It is estimated that between 1996 and 2005 the deployment of Bt cotton has reduced the volume of insecticide active ingredient used for pest con trol in cotton by 94.5 million kilograms and increased farm income through reduced costs and improved yields by US$7.5 billion, with most of the benefit accrued by farmers in …” global · 1996-2005 · large measured reduction of the old process | government or intergovernmental ✓ www.ars.usda.gov |
Details
Replaces: insecticide sprays against caterpillar pests · Scope: cotton, maize, soybean, eggplant (where legal) · Evidence: high
The chemical problem#
- Before Bt cotton, cotton took a large share of all insecticides used worldwide; in India and China farmers sprayed bollworms 10–30 times per season, often with organophosphates.
- Smallholder spraying causes acute poisonings and kills the natural enemies that would otherwise control secondary pests.
- Eggplant fruit and shoot borer in South Asia drove some of the highest insecticide loads on any vegetable.
Product overview#
- Bt cotton — Cry1Ac or Cry1Ac+Cry2Ab (“Bollgard II”) against bollworms; India adopted it from 2002.
- Bt maize — Cry1Ab/Cry1F/Vip3A against corn borers and fall armyworm; the only GM crop grown in the EU (MON810, Spain/Portugal).
- Bt soybean (Cry1Ac, Brazil/Argentina) against soybean caterpillars.
- Bt eggplant (brinjal) — Bangladesh released varieties to farmers from 2014.
- Same protein family as the sprayable Bt in A21 — the plant expresses it, so no spraying is needed.
Active ingredient / Composition#
- cry or vip genes from Bacillus thuringiensis, expressed in plant tissue.
- Seed is sold with a refuge requirement (non-Bt plants or “refuge in a bag”).
Key facts#
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Meta-analysis (147 studies) | GM crops on average reduced pesticide quantity by 37 %, raised yields by 22 % and farmer profits by 68 % (insect-resistant crops drive most of the pesticide effect) |
| India Bt cotton | Large yield and income gains in the first decade; later pink-bollworm resistance to Cry1Ac/Cry2Ab |
| Regulation | GMO approval needed. Russia bans GM cultivation (Federal Law 358-FZ, 2016); EU allows only MON810; widely grown in the Americas, India, China, Pakistan, parts of Africa |
Advantages#
- Removes most sprays against the target caterpillars → fewer farmer poisonings, more natural enemies in the field.
- Protein is highly specific to certain insect groups; no effect on mammals, bees or most predators at field doses.
- Works for smallholders who cannot time sprays well.
Mode of action#
- Cry and Vip proteins are activated in the alkaline midgut of susceptible larvae, bind specific gut receptors and form pores → gut paralysis and death.
- Pyramids (two or more proteins with different receptors) slow resistance.
Application#
| Crop | Pest | Method, timing and specifics |
|---|---|---|
| Cotton | Bollworms, pink bollworm | Pyramided Bt hybrids; structured refuge; short season and destruction of crop residues against pink bollworm |
| Maize | Corn borers, fall armyworm | Bt hybrids with Vip3A where FAW resistance to Cry proteins exists |
| Eggplant | Fruit and shoot borer | Bt brinjal varieties with border refuge rows |
| All | Resistance | Monitor larvae surviving on Bt plants; switch to pyramids early |
Limitations#
- Resistance: pink bollworm in India and several other pests have evolved resistance where refuges were ignored or single-protein crops were kept too long.
- Sucking pests (whitefly, jassids, mirids) are not controlled and can increase once broad-spectrum sprays stop.
- GMO status blocks use in many markets, including Russia and most of the EU.
- Seed price and trait fees; seed quality problems with illegal unapproved seed.
Evidence of displacement — D3: proven displacement at scale#
Assessment (hand-reviewed): Global: Bt cotton cut insecticide active ingredient use by 94.5 million kg (1996–2005, USDA-ARS).
Verified figures (the number is in the quoted sentence and the sentence is on the source page):
- displacement — The quantity of insecticides used to control bollworm in India reduced by 96% between 2001 and 2011. (India, 2001-2011; industry association: isaaa.org)
- displacement — Between 1996 and 2005, the deployment of Bt cotton reduced the volume of insecticide active ingredient used for pest control in cotton by 94.5 million kilograms globally. (global, 1996-2005; government or intergovernmental: ars.usda.gov)
- performance — Bt cotton adoption in India led to a reduction in insecticide sprays from more than two dozen to 2-3 sprays per season. (India, 2002-2014; industry association: isaaa.org)
- economics — Bt cotton adoption in India increased cotton profits by 50% compared to conventional cotton. (India, 2002-2008; weak: pnas.org)
Suppliers — real products and services (from the vendor index)#
Active vendors whose own card shows Bt or other insect-resistant crop traits or seed.
| Company | Region · Country | What the index shows | Card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mahyco | Asia · India | Bt cotton pioneer; hybrid seed R&D | card |
| Nuziveedu Seeds (NSL) | Asia · India | India’s largest Bt cotton seed seller by volume | card |
| Rasi Seeds | Asia · India | transgenic insect- and virus-resistant trait breeding | card |
| Ankur Seeds Pvt Ltd | Asia · India | virus- and insect-resistant seeds | card |
| Origin Agritech (NASDAQ: SEED) | Asia · China | GM corn traits; first Chinese transgenic-corn certificates | card |
| Hangzhou Ruifeng | Asia · China | Bt corn traits | card |
| Sementes Jotabasso | LatAm · Brazil | Bt soybean seed with refuge programme | card |
| RUSTICANA | LatAm · Argentina | post-patent transgenic and non-GM maize genetics | card |
Government funding signals#
Scanned 2026-10-01 (OpenAIRE + NSF); candidates reviewed by hand.
Signal: Weak. Public money here is ecological follow-up, not product development — SNSF 126068 (landscape-level pest suppression after large-scale Bt cotton planting) and SNSF 186505 (plant bugs in Bt cotton). Trait development is funded by seed companies and national programmes in China and India, which these sources do not index.
Scientific evidence#
- Klümper W, Qaim M (2014). A meta-analysis of the impacts of genetically modified crops. PLoS ONE 9: e111629.
- Kathage J, Qaim M (2012). Economic impacts and impact dynamics of Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton in India. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109: 11652–11656.
- Tabashnik BE, Carrière Y (2017). Surge in insect resistance to transgenic crops and prospects for sustainability. Nature Biotechnology 35: 926–935.
- Shelton AM, Hossain MJ, Paranjape V, et al. (2018). Bt eggplant project in Bangladesh: history, present status, and future direction. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 6: 106.
Bioeconomy value#
Bt crops are the largest real-world case of a biological product displacing insecticides, measured in millions of hectares. Whether this channel is open depends on the territory decision: it is closed in Russia and most of the EU, and open in South Asia and most of the Americas.
Cross-links: A21 sprayable Bt; A22 Helicoverpa virus; A24 Trichogramma; SG01 disease resistance.