Bt cotton
A claimed environmental benefit of Bt-cotton and maize is reduced insecticide use. A PG Economics study concluded that global pesticide use was reduced by 286,000 tons in 2006, decreasing pesticidal environmental impact by 15%. A survey of small Indian farms between 2002 and 2008 concluded that Bt cotton adoption had led to higher yields and lower pesticide use. Another study concluded that insecticide use on cotton and corn during the years 1996 to 2005 fell by of active ingredient, roughly equal to the annual amount applied in the European Union. A Bt cotton study in six northern Chinese provinces from 1990 to 2010 concluded that it halved the use of pesticides and doubled the level of ladybirds, lacewings and spiders and extended environmental benefits to neighbouring crops of maize, peanuts and soybeans.