Abstract
The assessment of the comparative performance of existing technologies especially those identified as
alternatives under smallholder farmers’ conditions can enhance the sustainable dissemination and
adoption of improved agricultural technologies. To this end, the performance of a genetically
modified (GM) stacked-trait herbicide and insect resistant Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) maize hybrid
was compared to a GM herbicide tolerant hybrid, a non-GM hybrid and an open pollinated variety
(OPV). The trials were conducted in three localities under natural stem borer infestation in irrigated
and non-irrigated (dryland)No stem borer infestation was observed on Bt maize plants from the
seedling to the flowering stages in all fields at all trial sites. Stem borer infestation was higher under
irrigation compared to dryland conditions. The stem borer complex on non-Bt maize plants under
irrigation was dominated by Chilo partellus whilst only Busseola fusca larvae were recorded under
dryland conditions. The yield of the Bt maize variety under irrigation was significantly higher than
that of the OPV but not different (P>0.05) from that of the non-Bt hybrids. No significant (P>0.05)
difference in yield was between Bt and non-Bt maize varieties under dryland conditions. The results
highlight the need to base dissemination and adoption decisions of relatively expensive agricultural
technologies such as GM maize on the results of context specific field trials.
D. A. Kotey, Y. Assefa, J. Van den Berg. (2021) Comparative incidence of maize stem borers on GM and non-GM maize under two smallholder cropping systems in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, Asian Journal of Agriculture and Biology, Volume-09, Issue-2.
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