AHMEDABAD (Commodity Online): The indefinite moratorium on commercial cultivation of GM food crop recommended by the Union environment and forest minister, Jairam Ramesh, seems to be justified after bt cotton, the first GM crop allowed in India is faced with a situation of unusual survival of pink bollworm in first-generation single-protein Bollgard cotton (bt-cotton) cultivated in four of Gujarat districts.

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) is learnt to have received a report confirming pink bollworm developing resistance to Bt cotton in four districts in Gujarat, namely, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Junagadh and Rajkot.

These four districts constitute not less than 40% of the total cotton produced in Gujarat. This year Gujarat’s cotton production is estimated to be around 95 lakh bales. Majority of the crop is based on bt seed provided by companies including Monsanto and Mahyco. Monsanto had revealed in 2009 that it had found Bt cotton crop in four districts — Amreli, Bhavnagar, Junagadh and Rajkot — demonstrate unusual susceptibility to pink bollworm.

The multinational seed company, Monsanto had issued a statement on Friday, saying that during field monitoring of the 2009 cotton crop in Gujarat, Monsanto and Mahyco Scientists had detected unusual survival of pink bollworm in first-generation single-protein Bollgard cotton. Testing was conducted to assess for resistance to Cry1Ac, the bt protein in Bollgard cotton, and pink bollworm resistance to Cry1Ac was confirmed in the four districts.

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However, Gujarat has been one of the model states in India for the biotechnologists to showcase widespread cultivation of genetically modified crop, bt cotton. Gujarat farmers had adopted the bt cotton technology much before the technology was given formal approval by the statutory body, GEAC.

Commenting on the bt cotton cultivation in Gujarat, NM Sharma, Managing Director, Gujarat State Co-operative Cotton Federation Ltd (GUJCOT) told Commodity Online, “Presently, the harvest is almost over. Only further cotton is being harvested now. Hence, nothing can be done for pink worm pest in the current crop. This year farmers have got very good prices for their produces. Different varieties have fetched prices as much as Rs.3500 per quintal, but there was a concern for productivity, which remained low primarily due to deficient and uncertain rain.”

“Historically, Gujarat has faced pest attack on bt seed, which included mealybug attack which was seen predominantly in central Gujarat region, while wilt attack was seen in Saurashtra region due to which the entire plant dried up. The problem with the bt seed is such that pests gradually develop themselves resistant to the gene. Hence, there is a requirement of constant up gradation of gene technology to avoid pests becoming resistance to the gene,” he said.

In its press statement issued on Friday, Monsanto had said, “The findings in Gujarat are an important reminder to Indian farmers. When using Bt cotton products it is essential to regularly monitor and scout fields throughout the season for insect presence and plant appropriate non-Bt refuge. Furthermore, farmers must adopt measures such as need-based application of insecticide sprays during the crop season, and properly manage crop residue and unopened bolls after harvest. Examples of such practices include tillage and cattle grazing to minimize the survival and spread of pink bollworm.”

Current monitoring efforts to manage insect resistance by an Indian-expert network will be expanded. The network is led by the Director of CICR who is nominated by GEAC. The network will continue to conduct extensive insect monitoring, encourage appropriate stewardship practices such as proper refuge planting through an intensified farmer education campaign, and explore new methods of refuge seed delivery.