Growth vigour and yield of transgenic RRM2 (RNA recognition motif 2) cotton and their effects on arthropod community in cotton field

Aims This experiment was carried out to assess the breeding value of the transgenic RRM2 (RNA recognition motif 2) cotton and to evaluate its environmental safety on cotton field.
Methods The indices of structure and composition, community characteristics, biodiversity, species richness and the seasonal changes of the arthropod community in transgenic RRM2 cotton field and the parental conventional cotton field were studied systematically in 2012 and 2013, respectively. We also analyzed the climate data from June to September of the two years, and compared the cotton growth vigour and the yield parameters between the transgenic cotton and the non-transgenic cotton.
Important findings The results showed that there were no significant differences in the indices of structure and composition, biodiversity, evenness, dominant concentration and the seasonal changes of insect communities and sub-communities between the transgenic cotton field and the non-transgenic cotton field within the same years. Comparing with in 2012, all the indices of arthropod communities and cotton growth vigour and cotton yield parameters in 2013 showed an overall downward trend in both the transgenic and the non-transgenic cotton fields. The dynamics of functional groups of dominant natural enemies lagged behind that of the dominant pests both in the transgenic cotton field and the non-transgenic cotton field, indicating a need to control the pests at the early stage of cotton growth.