All this because of inaction by the Central agencies
concerned on the illegal proliferation of an unapproved Bt cotton variety with
herbicide-tolerant trait. Now, the unofficial estimates put the extent of the
unauthorised cotton to be about 20% in the country. With one more season coming
to an end for cotton cultivation as the pickings are in the advanced stage, the
fear of spread of super weeds looms large. “The herbicide-tolerant Bt cotton
seed is being sold apparently as unbranded variety with the promise of higher
yield than BG-II variety. Much earlier, the unauthorised variety was found to
be in cultivation in Gujarat for 3 to 4 years and from last couple of years in
Maharashtra.
With one more season coming to an end for cotton cultivation as the pickings
are in the advanced stage, the fear of spread of super weeds looms large. All
this because of inaction by the Central agencies concerned on the illegal
proliferation of an unapproved Bt cotton variety with herbicide-tolerant trait.
Highly-placed sources in the State Government told The Hindu that in the
absence of any steps for regulation of the unauthorised variety of cotton seed,
Governments of Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana and others, where the fibre crop is
cultivated on a large-scale, are in confusion and unable to act against it.
‘Monsanto’ looms large In a letter addressed to National Biodiversity Board
(NBD) last month, the State Government wrote, “Monsanto, a US-based
multinational seed giant, has developed herbicide-tolerant trait (BG-III) and
commercialised it as ‘Round-up Ready Flex (RRF)’ in USA.
It also intended to commercialise it worldwide including India and applied for
permission through its business partner Mahyco to Genetic Engineering Appraisal
Committee (GEAC) for commercial release of the new variety”. Field trials were
conducted but subsequently the application was withdrawn following growing
agitations in the country against genetically modified (GM) crops. “It is
learnt that Mahyco had conducted field trials of several Bt cotton
hybrids/varieties containing RRF trait”, the letter said adding that the
unapproved RRF trait, however, got released into the environment either
intentionally or unintentionally. Now, the unofficial estimates put the extent
of the unauthorised cotton to be about 20% in the country. The China angle The
sources stated that Monsanto had officially denied leaking it in India and
indicated that smaller seed companies could have sneaked it in from China.
According to the Newspaper,“The herbicide-tolerant Bt cotton seed
is being sold apparently as unbranded variety with the promise of higher yield
than BG-II variety. It was found to be in the field in Telangana during testing
of some samples after Rabi season last year and it was brought to the notice of
government immediately by booking a case under Environmental Protection Act,”
the sources explained. Much earlier, the unauthorised variety was found to be
in cultivation in Gujarat for 3 to 4 years and from last couple of years in
Maharashtra. The officials suggested that it was time the NBD and Ministry of
Environment and Forest to act upon at the earliest to take over the ‘nobody’s
baby’ (variety) and start regulating it before imposing ban. Harmful effects
Asked about the ill-effects of such herbicide-tolerant GM crops, Director of
Telangana State Seed and Organic Certification Agency K. Keshavulu explained
that the herbicide-resistant gene could spread through pollen into the
biodiversity system leading to transformation of weeds into super weeds on a
large-scale.