Resistance development in pink bollworm (Pectinophora Gossypiella Saunders) against Bt cotton and its' establishment as mid season pest in India.

The pink boll worm now became a menace for sustainable cultivation of Bt cotton in India. Based on the data recorded in unsprayed conditions at 13 different locations of north, central and south cotton growing zone between 2007 and 2023, initiation of green boll damage during later part of the season was observed on Bt cotton genotype during 2009-2014 wherein incidence of PBW already existed on non-Bt genotype. In our research, between 2014 and 2017, the central and southern regions of India experienced a rise in the survival of pink bollworms on Bt cotton surpassing the Economic Threshold Level (ETL) whereas in the north zone PBW incidence started in 2018 at experimental locations.