Project Number: 3625-22000-016-11
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Dec 16, 2003
End Date: Aug 31, 2008

Objective:
The purpose of this agreement is to contribute to a scientific information framework for managing insect resistance to transgenic plants by determining whether remote sensing could be a tool for assessing insect damage in corn.

Approach:
This proposal is designed to investigate the feasibility of using remote-sensing technologies to detect and discriminate between cornfields infested with European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, with those that are not. It is believed that corn hybrids with insect damage have a different spectral signal than corn hybrids that are not damaged. This may or may not be true due to the fact that cornfields are exposed to numerous environmental factors that can influence their spectral reflectance. Variables such as hybrid, moisture level, pest infestation, fertility, ph, etc. can all influence the general health of corn plants. For this reason, remote-sensed data needs to be first investigated as a potential means for detecting pest-induced stresses in crops and, secondly, if detection is possible, validated against field observations to quantify these stresses. If pest-induced stresses can be discriminated from other environmental stresses, and if hybrid plant stresses for Bt and non-Bt corn can be separated, then remote sensing technology could be an important tool to help growers manage European corn borer resistance to Bt corn.