Southern States - Karnataka

Bt. cotton seeds to be distributed in 12 districts

By Our Special Correspondent

Bangalore May 18. With the Union Government giving the green signal to Mahyco-Monsanto to distribute Bt. cotton seeds for commercial cultivation, the company has selected 12 districts in the State for distribution of the same.

Disclosing this to presspersons here on Saturday, the Minister for Agriculture, T.B. Jayachandra, said the Centre had permitted the company to grow MECH-184 and MECH-162 varieties. The districts selected for the distribution of seeds were Haveri, Belgaum, Gadag, Bellary, Koppal, Gulbarga, Raichur, Davangere, Bijapur, Dharwad, Hassan, and Mysore. Cotton was cultivated on about six lakh acres of land in the State.

The company would supply 450 grams of Bt. cotton seeds and 120 grams of non-Bt. cotton seeds of the same variety in each package to the grower. This would be sufficient for cultivation on an acre of land. The company intended to supply 16,836 packets, each of which was priced at Rs. 1,600. There was no Government subsidy. The seeds would be made available through registered dealers, and traders found selling spurious seeds of genetically modified varieties would be punished.

The minister said that the Centre had given a three-year trial period for Bt. cotton seeds. Quoting experts, he said that cultivation of Bt. cotton helped control bollworm, reduced use of pesticides, and increased yield.

On the opposition to the introduction of the seeds by the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, he said that it was a legally permitted crop, and attempts to disrupt its cultivation would invite legal action.

He said these organisations had to keep in mind the amount of money spent on pesticides. Of the nearly Rs. 4,500 crore so spent, cotton alone accounted for about Rs. 2,000 crore.

He said it was not just a multinational company which had developed the improved seed. Even the University of Agricultural Sciences in Dharwad was working on developing a multi-gene modified cotton variety. The university had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research in this regard. Bt. cotton, he said, would fit well into integrated pest management, which the Agriculture Department had taken up on a massive scale.

Following the success of KRH-2 rice hybrid in some parts of the State, the same had been launched at the national level. The hybrid variety developed by the Regional Research Station of the University of Agricultural Sciences in Mandya and released in 1996 had been found to be superior to other hybrids. The university, in association with the Karnataka Seed Development Agency, would go in for large-scale production of seeds of the variety to meet the growing demand. KRH-2 has yielded up to 60 quintals of rice an acre.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• `Realignment of NDA parties unlikely'
• Bt. cotton seeds to be distributed in 12 districts
• `Lokayukta's observations demoralising doctors'
• Rs. 15 cr. sought for literacy programme
• Hospital staff protest `assault' by SI
• Govt.'s poor response to SC directive worries villagers
• NCC to enrol 1 lakh more cadets, expand activities
• New generation of farmers at the crossroads
• Few takers for plea to elect Hegde President
• `Change in lifestyle will help contain diabetes'

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu