Efficacy of Cry1Ac:Cry1F Proteins in Cotton Leaf Tissue Against Fall Armyworm, Beet Armyworm, and Soybean Looper (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., plants expressing Cry1Ac and Cry1F insecticidal crystal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bt) were evaluated against selected lepidopteran pests including fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E.-Smith), beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hubner), and soybean looper, Pseudoplusia includens (Walker). Studies were conducted in a range of environments, challenging various cotton tissue types from several varieties containing a combination of Cry1Ac and Cry1F proteins. In fresh tissue bioassays of mature leaves and squares (flower buds) and in artificial field infestations of white flowers, plants containing Cry1Ac:Cry1F significantly reduced levels of damage (leaf defoliation, bract feeding, penetrated squares and bolls, and boll abscission) and induced significantly greater mortality (90-100%) of fall armyworm compared with that on non-Bt cotton plants. Plants containing Cry1Ac:Cry1F conferred high levels (100%) of soybean looper mortality and low levels (0.2%) of leaf defoliation compared with non-Bt cotton. Beet armyworm was relatively less sensitive to Cry1Ac:Cry1F cotton plants compared with fall armyworm and soybean looper. However, beet armyworm larval development was delayed 21 d after infestation (DAI), and ingestion of plant tissue was inhibited (14 and 21 DAI) on the Cry1Ac:Cry1F plants compared with that on non-Bt cotton plants. These results show Cry1Ac:Cry1F cotton varieties can be an effective component in a management program for these lepidopteran pest species. Differential susceptibility of fall armyworm, beet armyworm, and soybean looper larvae to Cry1Ac:Cry1F cotton reinforces the need to sample during plant development and respond with a foliar insecticide if local action thresholds are exceeded.