Comparison between the Effect of Chemical Pesticides and Transgenic Rice on Non-Target Organisms in Rice Fields

Both legal and illegal rice importation have increased in the past decades in Iran. Annual rice importation during the last decade was always more than one million metric tons. Local rice production cannot compete with the imported rice due to the stability of foreign exchange rate in the last decade in one hand and increased cost of rice production mainly due to double digit inflation and recently the cutoff of the subsidies on the energy and other items on the other hand. Rice production in Iran is also suffering from the insect damage mainly the striped stem borer (Chilo supressalis). Traditionally, rice insect pests are controlled by heavy application of chemical insecticides in the form of 5 to 10 percent Diazinon granule. This in turn is considered as one of the points affecting the price of rice production in addition to its negative impact on the environment including non target organisms and human health. Genetic engineering offers a new and safe solution for this old problem. Iran is the first country in the world to officially release and commercialize an insect resistant rice cultivar Tarom Molaii in the year 2004 coinciding with the international year of rice. Fast adoption of this technology by farmers and public acceptance was remarkable. Insect resistant Bt rice cultivation resulted in significant reduction in chemical insecticide application, increased population of non target organisms, less pesticide residue in the final product, lower cost of production and relatively higher yield. In this article a comparison is made between two decisions: opting biotech rice or continued application of chemical insecticides for controlling insect pests in rice cultivation and the implications of such decision on the environment and non target organisms, taking also into account human health.