The Hindu Business Line : Bollgard II GM cotton may be commercialised from 2006

MONSANTO is hopeful that its Bollgard II version of genetically modified (GM) cotton would be ready for commercial cultivation in the country in the 2006 planting season.

"The Bollgard II lines incorporated in select cotton hybrids of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco) have already completed one year of large-scale field trials in 2004. There will be one more such round of trials this year and if everything goes well, commercial release would take place during kharif 2006," said Dr M.K. Sharma, Managing Director of Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) Ltd (MMB).

MMB, a 50:50 joint venture between Monsanto and the Jalna-based Mahyco, is the Indian licensee for Bollgard — the specific Bt gene constructs derived from a soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, patented by the US life sciences major.

The original Bollgard line was based on a particular Bt gene called cry1Ac, which synthesises proteins that exhibit toxicity against the Heliothis insect species, particularly American bollworm. The cotton incorporating this gene is claimed to have "in-built" resistance against the dreaded pest, thereby reducing the farmers' dependence on spraying pesticides.

The cry1Ac-based Bollgard — incorporated in local cotton hybrids of Mahyco and Rasi Seeds Pvt Ltd, Salem — has been in commercial cultivation since 2002, with the total area coverage increasing from 72,000 acres to 2.3-lakh acres in 2003 and 13-lakh acres in 2004.

With each 450-gm packet required to cover an acre costing Rs 1,600 for the farmer, the total business from Bollgard would have been in the range of Rs 208 crore last year. Bollgard sales are expected to touch 40 lakh acres this year, translating into a business of around Rs 640 crore.

Even as Bollgard has taken off in a major way, Monsanto is now aiming at launching an improved Bollgard II version. The new GM cotton hybrids will incorporate another Bt gene, cry2Ab.

While Bollgard involved introduction of the cry1Ac gene into cotton through a carrier (Agrobacterium tumefaciens), Bollgard II has been basically derived from particle bombardment (using a `gene gun') of cry2Ab into Bollgard containing the cry1Ac gene. The cry2Ab gene is capable of synthesising proteins toxic to the spudoptera or armyworm larvae.

"While conferring specific resistance to spudoptera, cry2Ab also has a synergetic effect with cry1Ac, the overall impact of which is an enhanced protein expression. As a result, Bollgard II would be more effective than Bollgard even against the American bollworm," Dr Sharma claimed.

Besides Mahyco, MMB has sub-licensed the Bollgard II gene construct to Rasi Seeds, Ankur Seeds Pvt Ltd (Nagpur), Krishi Dhan Seeds Ltd (Jalna) and Emergent Genetics India Pvt Ltd, Hyderabad.

"All these companies have incorporated the gene construct into their respective cotton hybrids. While Mahyco's hybrids have already received the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee's nod for large-scale testing since 2004, the others are undergoing limited field trials under the auspices of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research," Dr Sharma added.

MMB currently has sub-licensing agreements for its Bollgard technology with 21 domestic seed players, including the five who have opted for the improved Bollgard II versions. Of the remaining, as many as 10 are Hyderabad-based: Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd, Bioseed Research India Pvt Ltd (part of DCM Shriram), Pravardhan Seeds Pvt Ltd, Vikki's Agrotech Ltd, Ganga Kaveri Seeds Pvt Ltd, Kaveri Seed Company Pvt Ltd, Vibha Agrotech Ltd, Seed Works India Pvt Ltd, Prabhat Agribiotech Ltd and Nandi Seeds Pvt Ltd.

Others include Namdhari Seeds Pvt Ltd (Bangalore), Tulsi Seeds Pvt Ltd (Guntur), Ajeet Seeds Pvt Ltd (Aurangabad), Vikram Seeds Pvt Ltd (Ahmedabad), Solar Agrotech Pvt Ltd (Rajkot) and Proagro Seed Company Pvt Ltd (Delhi).

Interestingly, only in late 2003, seven Hyderabad-based seed companies led by Nuziveedu had formed a consortium — Swarna Bharat Biotechnics — to enter into an agreement with the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow, for commercialising Bt cotton technology. While the stated purpose then was to develop alternative sources of GM technology to combat `multinational dominance,' all these companies have now become sub-licensees of MMB!

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