My colleague, Angus Catchot at Mississippi State University wrote a good news article addressing Bt corn refuge requirements.  Keep in mind that his comments are for Mississippi, and things change for non-cotton growing areas of Tennessee … those not officially designated as “cotton counties” (see below).

You can read Dr. Catchot’s comments on his blog site at http://www.mississippi-crops.com/2012/03/01/the-corn-refuge-conundrum-for-the-south/.

For Tennessee counties that are designated as non-cotton growing areas, even more options come into play for some Bt corn packages.  For example there is only a 5% non-Bt corn refuge requirements for VT2Pro and SmartStax technologies (including “refuge-in-the-bag” options).  It is important to remember that the refuge must be planted in the same or immediately adjacent field if a hybrid contains any Bt components for rootworm control.

Designated cotton counties in Tennessee include Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Franklin, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Lake, Lauderdale, Lincoln, Madison, Obion, Rutherford, Shelby, and Tipton.