It is our pleasure to enthusiastically welcome everyone to the inaugural AGMasters Conference! As many of you know, this year’s conference represents a significant transition from a rich history of conferences conducted over a 60 year-span to a new era. Those conferences included the Custom Spray Operators’ Training School, Illinois Agricultural Pesticides Conference, and the Crop Protection Technology Conference. Each of these conferences continues to leave us a lasting legacy of the commitment of the University of Illinois to our agricultural stakeholders and clientele. The University of Illinois Extension specialists who are Co-Chairs of this conference take very seriously the responsibility of a land grant university to serve the needs of residents throughout the state. It is particularly appropriate in 2009, the 200th birthday of our greatest President Abraham Lincoln, signer of the Morrill Land Grant College Act in 1862, that we begin a new journey with the AGMasters Conference. The planners of this conference have strived to bring to all participants the latest and most timely information in the crop production and protection arenas by featuring noted speakers who are well respected in their fields of scholarship. The first day of this conference will utilize a general session format designed to capture everyone’s interest and stimulate discussion. The second day (advanced session) will have a limited enrollment and will feature instructors in a classroom setting going over the latest scientific literature in specific biological and agricultural fields of study. We know that some members within the agricultural community are increasingly demanding the most sophisticated information, of high relevance, we can offer – it is our intention to deliver on this request. We are in the midst of an agricultural revolution with the escalating use of transgenic crops, the heightened interest in crops used for biofuels, global warming and its impact on crop production, and the relevance of IPM being increasingly questioned in large-field crop settings. It is our hope that information shared at this conference will enable all of us to more effectively embrace these new challenges while creating innovative solutions. We look forward to bringing this new conference to each of you in 2009 and appreciate your participation and support!
Regards,
Carl Bradley, Vince Davis, Mike Gray, Aaron Hager, and Sandy Osterbur, Co-Chairs, AGMasters Conference
Presentation Spotlight
Bt Plants for Insect Management: A Good Long-term IPM Strategy or a Recipe for Disaster?
Transgenic plants expressing insecticidal proteins from the bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), were first commercialized in 1996 amid concern from some scientists, regulators and environmentalists that the widespread use of Bt crops would inevitably lead to resistance and the loss of a “public good”; specifically, the susceptibility of insect pests to Bt proteins. Despite this concern, there has only been one verified case of resistance and this was an isolated case in Puerto Rico. This lack of wide-spread resistance is remarkable since the adoption of Bt crops has been dramatic; in 2008 alone, Bt plants were grown on 114 million acres worldwide. Why have we not seen more cases of resistance to Bt plants, especially in light of the fact that resistance to conventional insecticides often occurs within 3-5 years? The durability of Bt has been presumed to be due to one or more of the following factors: 1) large fitness costs or other disadvantages suffered by resistant individuals, 2) an initial low frequency of resistant alleles, 3) a dilution of resistant alleles with susceptible individuals from non-Bt plants or “refuges”, and 4) a high-dose of toxin delivered by plants. Additional factors such as the conservation of natural enemies in Bt crops may have also helped lower pest populations and affected the dynamics of insecticide resistance. In this discussion, we will explore some of the theory behind these factors, discuss some of the current topics on pyramiding toxins and different refuge strategies, as well as explore some of the future transgenic approaches to insect management.
Speakers
