Bt Cotton -- Cotton going Hightech!

I talked about Organic cotton last time and how it eliminates pesticide use. I read about this different type of cotton today known as Bt Cotton. Bt is mistaken for Biotech. It actually stands for a certain soil bacterium known as Bacillus thuringiensis. This bacterium is special because its toxins cause harmful affects on certain common and problematic pests like the cotton bollworm (see photo).
However, it is harmless for humans, and most beneficial insects because it degrades quickly. I have studied genetic engineering in medicine and we came across a very similar situation where harmful effects of a virus or bacteria are genetically modified to be incorporated in a different environment to produce beneficial effects. This is exactly why this has interested me more than others. The genes from this bacterium is incorporated in cotton seeds. This results in the cotton plant producing the same toxin as the bacteria and results in excellent pest control without the need of pesticides. The Bt toxin contained by the Bt crops is no different from other chemical pesticides, but causes much less damage to the environment.
Use of Bt cotton has led to a 3%–27 increase in cotton yield in countries where it is grown. This is also because the Bt toxin works better than the pesticides because of lower resistance.
Click here to find how yields improved for the farmers using Bt cotton. This link shows how the use of Bt cotton in the US has been economically viable.
The effect on yield is of most importance in a country like Pakistan. The current year's crop fell short by around 2 million bales to stand at 12.5 million bales. The yield gain with Bt cotton could have partially covered for this loss.
Another surprising fact: Spray applications of Bt are one of the most important insect management tools in certified organic production of many fruit and vegetable crops. So does this means Bt is partly behind Organic cotton's success? :-)