Summary of Second ABSTC and US EPA Meeting Regarding Agency Proposed 

Changes to the Corn Rootworm Resistance Management Program

MEETING LOCATION: DATE:

US EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs, May 20th, 2015

2777 S. Crystal Drive,

Arlington, VA 22202

ATTENDEES:

Kimberly Nesci, US EPA/OPP/BPPD 

Alan Reynolds, US EPA/OPP/BPPD 

Jeannette Martinez, US EPA/OPP/BPPD 

Mike Mendelsohn, US EPA/OPP/BPPD 

Ann Sibold, US EPA/OPP/BPPD 

Jonathan Becker, US EPA/OPP/BEAD 

Tony Burd, Syngenta/ABSTC

Dave Guyer, Syngenta/ABSTC 

Graham Head, Monsanto/ABSTC 

Jeff Bookout, Monsanto/ABSTC 

Christina Lawrence, Monsanto/ABSTC 

Nick Storer, Dow AgroSciences/ABSTC

Mark Kimm, Dow AgroSciences/ABSTC 

Clint Pilcher, DuPont Pioneer/ABSTC 

Michael Smith, DuPont Pioneer/ABSTC 

AGENDA:

 Introductions

 ABSTC response/counterproposal to EPA proposed changes to CRW RM program

1. IPM approach to CRW resistance management

2. Proactive strategies to detect unexpected damage (UXD) in Bt corn fields

3. Annual monitoring of CRW populations

4. Resistance confirmation process (bioassays)

5. Remedial action plans
SUMMARY OF MEETING MINUTES

Element 1: IPM Approach

ABSTC member companies proposed to expand the current IRM education programs to include IPM 

(Integrated Pest Management) + IRM (Insect Resistance Management) for all corn growers regardless of 

location. The IPM tools recommended (also referred to BMPs) are similar to the IPM measures 

proposed by EPA, but include the use of soil-applied insecticides for corn rootworm control on Bt corn 

also containing CRW traits. ABSTC proposed to address education on the BMP use of SAIs in the 

expanded education programs. 

ABSTC and EPA agreed on the benefits of a baseline survey - designed and conducted in 2016 by an 

independent third party - to determine the current state of IPM use by growers who plant Bt corn. 

ABSTC proposed future surveys to assess the success of the educational program and growers’ 

compliance with implementing IPM + IRM for corn rootworm and Bt PIPs.

ABSTC agreed to provide the EPA with additional details on the education programs, including such 

information as the mechanism for implementation.

Element 2: Proactive Scouting and Detection of UXD

ABSTC agreed to use the Node Injury Scale (NIS) threshold proposed by EPA of 1.0 for single Bt PIPs. 

ABSTC proposed a different NIS score than that proposed by EPA for pyramided Bt PIPs to determine 

whether unexpected damage (UXD) had occurred in a cornfield. ABSTC committed that every effort 

would be made to collect adults from UXD sites the year the damage was reported if beetles were 

present.

ABSTC and the Agency agreed that corn growers should have access to information about UXD 

occurrences for Bt corn rootworm traits in their state in order to make informed decisions. CRW 

registrants within ABSTC agreed to develop a standardized CRW resistance monitoring, resistance 

detection, resistance confirmation, and mitigation plan that would be agreed upon by BPPD and the 

CRW registrants prior to 2016 field season, and this plan would incorporate most of the elements 

proposed previously by EPA.

Element 3: Removal of Random Monitoring

ABSTC concurred with EPA’s proposal to remove the requirement for collecting random samples of corn 

rootworm from the major corn growing states for the purpose of resistance monitoring.

Element 4: Resistance Confirmation Process

ABSTC proposed to continued use of diet bioassays in addition to using a plant assay (sublethal seedling 

assay or single on-plant assay). ABSTC committed to provide a standardized approach for diet bioassay 

methodology to EPA. 
Element 5: Remedial Action Plans

ABSTC proposed to replace “Remedial Action” with “mitigation” and to mitigate resistance using the 

same BMPs as those in the education program described under Element 1. Mitigation was proposed to 

occur on a per-field basis.