The Hindu Business Line : Rasi Seeds plans to release Bollgard-2 cotton strain next year

Rasi Seeds (P) Ltd, the flagship of the Attur-based Rasi group engaged in commercial Bt cottonseed production, is working on Bollgard-2 strain using Bt technology that will counter `prodenia' insects, a pest affliction in cotton.

Currently, the company has put under large-scale field trials its Bollgard-2 cotton strain (carrying the Cry1Ac and Cry2 Ab expressions) and these trials are being undertaken in all the nine cotton-growing States in three zones. It is developing the Bollgard-2 strain using its in-house hybrid cotton RCH-2.

Mr M. Ramasami, Managing Director of Rasi Seeds, told Business Line that the new Bt strain would be released next year. The company, besides the RCH-2 hybrid variety, will also attempt to incorporate the Bollgard-2 strain in a few more cotton varieties it has developed.

To distribute RCH-B-708

To meet the demand for quality seeds in the extra long staple (ELS) cotton varieties, Rasi Seeds has planned to distribute its newly developed RCH-B-708 hybrid. The company intends to release seeds enough to sow some 10,000 acres in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka where currently the ELS cotton variety, DCH-32, is raised.

The growers and the cotton consuming mills aggrieved over the steady decline in DCH-32 variety yield levels , have been pleading for reinvigorating the ELS variety either through rejuvenation or developing alternative strains to the time tested DCH cotton variety.

Strengthening R&D

Rasi Seeds is investing Rs 6-7 crore to strengthen its seed research and development facilities, which will cover enlarging its biotechnology activities.

"We need to step up our R and D facility for which we need an additional 30,000 sq ft built-in area in addition to our existing 3,500 sq ft facility in Attur. The additional spending will cover expanding our laboratories too," Mr Ramasami, said. The facility would be in place by November this year. Sensing the potential for contract farming as a business model, Rasi also plans to create a separate division for developing contract farming of cotton.

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