Nagpur-based Central Institute for Cotton Research will soon write to the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) to allow sale of refuge in bag (RIB) cottonseeds that will have Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) variety along with non-Bt.
A process such as RIB will ensure that pests present on a farm growing genetically modified crop like cotton and corn do not develop resistance to the Bt gene that destroys them.
“We have conducted tests of RIB seeds for the last three years and the results are promising. We are now preparing the data on the results. Once we prepare them, we will write to GEAC,” said KR Kranthi, director of the research institute. While the Bt variety will make up 95 per cent of the RIB cottonseeds, the non-Bt one will comprise the rest.
The objective of the RIB concept is to make growers comply with norms for growing genetically modified crop and, in turn, make the process simpler.
“During a meeting among stakeholders of Bt cotton, Monsanto floated the idea. We at the CICR told them that we would also like to test the RIB process,” said Kranthi.
“We think there is no other choice left for farmers. This is because the current practice of issuing the non-Bt seeds for refuge crop is not working. Seed companies should ensure that 95 per cent of the seeds in the bag will essentially be Bt,” he said.
Read the full, original article: An RIB solution to make pests non-resistant to Bt gene
