An Indian BT Cotton variety, which is expected to hit Indian markets in three to four years, would be superior to that developed by the US agribusiness giant Monsanto, Indian Council of Agricultural Research director general Panjab Singh said here today. "The Indian BT Cotton being developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research's (ICAR) Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur, would be superior to the one developed by Monsanto," Singh said adding that the variety would hit the markets in three to four years once all trials are completed. The biggest advantage of the Indian variety over the Monsanto one would be that farmers will not be required to buy new seeds every year but will be able to use the same seeds for three to four years continuously, he said. "The Monsanto BT Cotton hybrid has the basic genes to protect the plant from bollworms, but we are planning to insert multiple pest resistant genes in our variety and this would make it even more superior to that of Monsanto," he said. Commenting on a recent controversy over the Greenpeace report on the environment impact of transgenic BT-Cotton in China, he said, “The BT Cotton has been designed to give protection to the plant from bollworm, was safe, eco-friendly and profitable for the farmer.”
Bureau Report