A GENETICALLY-modified moth, right, has been bred by Oxfordshire scientists to reduce serious pest damage to cabbages, kale and broccoli.

Male diamondback moths with a “self limiting gene” produce female offspring that do not survive to reproduce, thereby controlling their population.

The moth is one of the world’s worst insect pests, each year costing farmers up to £3.2 billion.

In early greenhouse tests, introducing the GM moth curbed populations within eight weeks.

Dr Neil Morrison, from Milton Park-based Oxitec which created the moth, said: “This research is opening new doors for the future of farming with pest control methods that are non-toxic and pesticide-free.

“We all share an interest in safe and environmentally friendly pest control, so this is a very promising tool that could be put to good use by farmers as part of integrated pest management (IPM) strategies for healthy and sustainable agriculture.”

Oxitec already proved the power of self-limiting genes by creating dengue fever-carrying mosquitos which produce “dud” offspring, successfully reducing their populations by 90 per cent in Brazil, Panama and the Cayman Islands.

Follow-up studies in the US will include field cage tests this summer followed by small-scale field releases.

Professor Johnjoe McFadden, an expert in molecular genetics at the University of Surrey, said: “The Oxitec group’s research provides an exciting new technology that could be used to control insect pests of plants, humans and animals.

“Release of the GM moths resulted in a crash of the moth population in greenhouse trials. If the results can be replicated in the field then it would represent a big step forward.”