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.

While cultivating genetically-modified crops, it is mandatory for farmers to grow refuge or a non-GM trait of the same crop in five per cent of the area. In India, while selling Bt cottonseeds, seed companies provide the non-Bt refuge seeds along with them in a separate packet.

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.

Growing a refuge crop in the field of a Bt crop is based on the law of genetics. If a pest develops resistance to the Bt gene, then the non-Bt plant grown on the same farm will help tackle the problem. The principle is simple: the pest from the Bt plant will mate with a similar one from the non-Bt plant and develop a progeny that will not be resistant to the Bt gene.

 “Since farmers are oblivious to the dangers of growing just Bt cotton, they throw away the non-Bt seeds. Some farmers do it to get returns from the Bt variety as it will fetch them more money,” said an official with a seed firm.

DuPont Pioneer came out with such a concept for Bt corn first, while Monsanto has developed a similar concept for Bt cotton. “US companies have been developing the RIB concept for a number of years now. In India, we proposed it to the CICR and are awaiting further details from them,” said a Monsanto spokesperson. “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.

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