Bollgard II gets green light

In the midst of a furore over the pricing of Bt cotton, the government8217;s Genetic Engineering Approval Committee has cleared Bollgard II for Gujarat

In the midst of a furore over the pricing of Bt cotton, the government8217;s Genetic Engineering Approval Committee has cleared Bollgard II for Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. This has a double gene technology8212;apart from bollworm, it has in-built protection against another pest, the spodoptera caterpillar.

This is the second landmark clearance in the saga of genetically modified crops in India. The first occurred when Bollgard I was first approved in 2002 for five states.

Monsanto Mahyco, the company behind Bollgard II, is preparing to launch the product in Aurangabad on May 26 and in Ahmedabad on May 29 in an event titled 8216;Power of II8217;. Since it is now the company8217;s 8216;8216;premier product8217;8217;, they have indicated that it will be priced higher than Bollgard I.

Four hybrids have received approval8212;two from Mahy-co, one each from Krishidhan and Ajeet Seed companies. Three sub-licencees of Monsato Mahyco Biotech India Ltd have been given the green light for commercial development.

Bollgard II contains two genes8212;Cry 1Ac and Cry2Ab8212;derived from a soil-borne bacterium. The company claims that it is a better resistance-management tool than Bollgard I, which only offered resistance to one pest, and hence will result in even higher yields. 8216;8216;It is unlikely that target species will develop resistance to both proteins,8217;8217; said the company spokesperson.

While Bollgard involved introduction of the cry1Ac gene into cotton through a carrier Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Bollgard II has been derived from particle bombardment using a 8216;gene gun8217; of cry2Ab into Bollgard containing the cry1Ac gene.

It was approved for US and Australia in 2002 and 2003 respectively. In India, the first multi-location field trials began in 2002. Over the last two years, large scale trials have been held at 673 locations.

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In 2005 it was planted by over a million farmers across 3.1 million acres in nine cotton-growing states.

In the last few weeks, Bt cotton has been in news as the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices ruled that the price they were charging is too high. The company has been directed to reduce its price over the next month.

TAKE TWO

The original Bollgard line was based on a particular Bt gene called cry1Ac, which has an inbuilt toxicity for the American bollworm, the most common pest for cotton. It thereby reduced the farmers8217; dependence on pesticides, but did not obviate it altogether. The newly cleared construct has another gene, cry2Ab, which protects the crop against caterpillars, another common pest. The double gene, the company claims, will help increase yields further.