BT Cotton

Why in news?

• Haryana government has issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) to seed major Mahyco to conduct field trials on BG-2 RRF, a herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant variety of BT cotton.
• BG-2 RRF can provide protection against devastating pest attacks such as American Bollworm.

About BT Cotton:

• Bt cotton remains the only GM crop allowed to be cultivated in the country.
• Developed by US giant Bayer-Monsanto, it involves insertion of two genes viz ‘Cry1Ab’ and ‘Cry2Bc’ from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis into cotton seeds.
• This modification codes the plant to produce protein toxic to Heliothis bollworm (pink bollworm) thus making it resistant to their attack.
• The commercial release of this hybrid was sanctioned by the government in 2002.

Cotton in India:

• Cotton is a fibre, oil and protein yielding crop of global significance.
• Temperature: Between 21-30°C
• Rainfall: Around 50-100cm.
• Soil Type: Well-drained black cotton soil of Deccan Plateau.
• Top Cotton Producing States: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan.
• Hybrid Cotton: Cotton made by crossing two parent strains that have different genetic characters.
• Hybrids are often spontaneously and randomly created in nature when open-pollinated plants naturally cross-pollinate with other related varieties.
• GM cotton covers 95% of the area under cotton.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Consider the following States:

1. Gujarat

2. Maharashtra

3. Telangana

4. Andhra Pradesh

How many of the above are generally known Cotton Producing States

(a) Only one State

(b) Only two States

(c) Only three States

(d) All four States

                      D

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