Resistance Management with Bt Plants

In insects, resistance is a pre-adaptive phenomenon that develops by selection of rare individuals of a population that can survive a certain insecticide treatment. Resistance management strategies try to prevent or diminish the selection of the rare individuals carrying resistance genes and hence to keep the frequency of resistance genes below levels that would result in inefficient insect control. 

There are different strategies that at least in theory should slow down the development of insect resistance in Bt plants [104, 105], including tissue-specific Bt protein expression (protecting only the critical tissues), wound-induced Bt protein expression (if expression would only be induced at a threshold level of insect 

Unprecedented in the field of insect control, the US ERA (Environmental Protection Agency) required a compulsory insect resistance management plan, based on the high-dose/refuge strategy, in 1996 with the introduction of Bt crops. Based 

In some countries, with millions of small farmers, it is not so straightforward 

Clearly, Bt plants cannot be considered as a stand-alone product, but rather an 

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