Bt-cotton boosts water efficiency but lowers nitrogen use efficiency in plants.
The study compared Bt cotton with regular cotton to see how the Bt gene affects water and nitrogen use efficiency in leaves. Bt cotton had lower stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rates but higher water use efficiency. It also had higher nitrogen concentration but lower photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency. Overall, Bt cotton is better at using water efficiently but not as good at using nitrogen efficiently compared to regular cotton.