Mahyco moves court after Karnataka bans Bt cotton seeds

07 Apr '14

2 min read

The Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Limited (Mahyco) has moved the High Court of Karnataka after the state government issued an Order banning its Bt cotton hybrid seeds, reports The Hindu.

Last month, the Government of Karnataka banned Mahyco’s Bt cotton hybrid MRC-7351 and Nikki Plus Bt seeds as these did not give desired yields during kharif 2013 season.

The Order, issued by the Director of Agriculture, said 54,157 farmers in Karnataka planted Bt cotton seeds supplied by Mahyco in 58,195 hectares, but they suffered yield loss of over 50 percent.

Farmers in seven districts—Haveri, Belgaum, Davanagere, Chitradurga, Dharwad, Bellary and Gadag—of the state had complained to the Department of Agriculture, following which a survey was conducted, which concluded that crops had failed because of the substandard quality of seeds of Mahyco.

The Government Order also said that Mahyco did not conduct any training programme or awareness campaign for effective management of pests and diseases, violating a condition issued by the Government of India.

In its petition, Mahyco contended that crop failure in several districts was not due to the Bt cotton seed supplied by it, but on account of environmental reasons, including heavy rains and the onset of new pests like midges and mirid bugs.

Mahyco said it had already given Rs. 100 million as token support to the affected cotton growers in Karnataka.

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