CICR gets approval for 3 varieties of Bt cotton seeds

30 Jan '17

2 min read

The Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) of the Indian government has received approval for three varieties of indigenous Bt seeds that are suitable for the northern states of the country. The institute will also seek approval for additional seeds meant for the southern and central states of India from Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).

CICR plans to make 11 Bt cotton seeds available by the next cotton sowing season, according to a leading daily. Farmers will not be required to buy cotton seeds as they can be derived from the crops, considering that all the seeds contain the resistant gene.

The Bt cotton crops will also have a shorter duration and will be ready to harvest by November as they have a gestation period of 160 to 170 days.

The institute has developed 20 Bt cotton varieties instead of hybrids using Mon531 and expects 11 of them to be available by the next season, said Dr Keshav Kranthi, director of CICR. They are engineered to build up immunity against the pest bollworm. Kranthi said that the CICR Bt cotton crops will be ready for harvest before the pink bollworm strikes.

The new seeds are equivalent to Monsanto’s Bollgard that was launched back in 2002. (KD)

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