WideStrike FAQs

What is WideStrike® Insect Protection?

WideStrike^® Insect Protection is a new, stacked insect-protection trait researched and developed for use in the cotton market by Dow AgroSciences. The stacked trait involves unique proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis, and field-testing has shown activity on a broad spectrum of lepidopteran pests.

How does WideStrike® Insect Protection work, and what pests does it protect against?

WideStrike^® Insect Protection expresses the Cry1F and Cry1Ac Bacillus thuringiensis proteins in cotton plants, providing season-long protection from a broad spectrum of cotton pests such as cotton bollworm, tobacco budworm, beet armyworm, fall armyworm, soybean loopers, cabbage loopers, and pink bollworm. Dow AgroSciences is in the early stages of testing WideStrike for efficacy against other economically important pests outside the United States.

What type of marker gene was used?

The marker gene used in WideStrike^® Insect Protection is not an antibiotic resistance marker gene.

What cotton varieties contain WideStrike® Insect Protection?

WideStrike^® Insect Protection will initially be available in elite PhytoGen^®brand cottonseed varieties. Go to Varieties Available for a complete list of PhytoGen varieties.

Will PhytoGen offer WideStrike® Insect Protection in conjunction with Roundup Ready® and Roundup Ready Flex?

PhytoGen offers a comprehensive portfolio of in-plant traits that include WideStrike^® Insect Protection, Roundup Ready^®, Roundup Ready Flex and the industry's only stacked WideStrike/Roundup Ready and WideStrike/Roundup Ready Flex varieties.

Will PhytoGen offer other herbicide tolerance traits in its varieties, either alone or stacked with WideStrike® Insect Protection?

PhytoGen will continue to evaluate new technologies, as they become available.

What seed companies will be selling WideStrike® Insect Protection?

PhytoGen will be the only company offering WideStrike^® Insect Protection. Negotiations continue with other seed companies and could result in commercialization by other companies within the next few years.

Will WideStrike® Insect Protection have to be sprayed for lep pests? If so, which ones? Under what circumstances?

In many years, pest pressures will be such that leps will not need to be sprayed. WideStrike^® Insect Protection cotton should be scouted regularly and could require some spraying for prolonged heavy pressure of pests like cotton bollworm.

How many trials for WideStrike® Insect Protection were conducted? Where were they?

From 2001 through 2007, WideStrike^® Insect Protection has been tested in more than 300 studies including extensive efficacy and agronomic trials in all major U.S. cotton producing states. Trials were conducted under diverse environments and management systems by key public and private cotton researchers.

What are the expression levels of the two toxins throughout the plant?

Both proteins have season-long and ample expression in all of the key plant parts needed for commercial lep control. Actual levels of expression vary based on plant part, time of season and the specific protein.

Will the WideStrike® Insect Protection cotton varieties be competitive in all cotton growing regions?

PhytoGen will be introducing WideStrike^® Insect Protection in widely adapted varieties with high-yield potential and excellent fiber packages. In addition, other seed companies are introgressing their best varieties in anticipation of future introductions.

Will growers see price breaks due to competition?

WideStrike^® Insect Protection will be priced to the value it brings to growers by providing excellent season-long, broad-spectrum lep control.

What benefit is another Bacillus thuringiensis to the cotton market and cotton growers?

WideStrike^® Insect Protection will bring a truly unique choice in products with new germplasm and a new stack of Bacillus thuringiensis traits providing excellent season-long, broad-spectrum lep control.

Are you concerned that WideStrike® Insect Protection may displace Lorsban® or Tracer® insecticides or other Dow AgroSciences product sales?

No. Dow AgroSciences participates in many parts of the agricultural input market and believes in providing the best solutions possible. The company has a broad portfolio of insect solutions for the cotton market, which complement one another and help reduce the possibility of pests evolving resistance to any one technology.

What are the plans for international approvals for WideStrike® Insect Protection? Will it be registered for use in other countries?

Import approvals for cotton products (cotton oil for food) produced by WideStrike^® Insect Protection were granted for Canada, Mexico and Japan. WideStrike Insect Protection will be initially registered for use only in the United States. Approvals for other cotton producing countries are being explored and evaluated by Dow AgroSciences.


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