Managing the risk of European corn borer resistance to Bt corn

New pesticidal crops are taking advantage of advances in genetic engineering. For example, corn has been engineered to express Bt proteins that are toxic to the European corn borer. These crops are effective pest management tools for United States growers. However, there is concern that pests will develop resistance to these crops resulting in the increased use of more hazardous pesticides. The purpose of this paper is to develop a stochastic dynamic bioeconomic simulation model to help guide regulatory policy designed to mitigate the threat of resistance to new pesticidal crops. The model is used to evaluate the insect resistance management guidelines mandated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for the use of Bt corn in the Midwestern United States.