Study Reveals Friendly™ Fall Armyworm Reduces Population; Provides Long-Term Protection

A new peer-reviewed study published in BMC Biotechnology describes Oxitec's Friendly™ Fall Armyworm technology and how it offers an effective solution to fight the insect's resistance to currently used crop protection tools.

The findings show that the world's first fall armyworm carrying Oxitec's self-limiting gene, which has received commercial biosafety approval from Brazilian regulators in 2021, can reduce populations of fall armyworms and provide long-term protection of the effectiveness of biotech crops against this devastating crop pest. Fall armyworm is estimated to cost farmers more than US$10 billion each year in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

The paper also includes in-depth mathematical modeling that simulates the threat of fall armyworm in corn-producing regions in Brazil. The modeling shows that when male moths are deployed, the development of biotech corn-resistant fall armyworm is significantly delayed, leading to sustained fall armyworm management over a much longer period.

For more details, read the news release from Oxitec.