Context

After the clearance for GM-Mustard crops for field trials, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is going to recommend an ‘environmental release’ of genetically modified (GM) cotton. 

Background

• Nearly two decades ago, a genetically modified type of cotton, known as Bt cotton, was introduced to India to reduce farmers’ insecticide use.
• Though the effects of Bt cotton on farmers’ yield vary across Indian states, most states show a decrease in insecticide use since the introduction of Bt cotton.
• A reduction in insecticide use may be beneficial for farmers’ health and the environment by reducing pollutants.
  
  

About

Recent GM-Cotton alterations:

• A German multinational company ‘Bayer AG’is going to introduce a modification in cotton plants that will allow farmers to spray the herbicide ‘glyphosate’.
• The transgenic cotton — Bollgard II Roundup Ready Flex (BG-II RRF) contains three alien genes; the first two (‘cry1Ac’ and ‘cry2Ab’) are isolated from a soil bacterium,
  • Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt, and coding for proteins toxic to the American bollworm, spotted bollworm, and tobacco caterpillar insect pests.
  • The third gene, ‘cp4-epsps’, is sourced from another soil bacterium, Agrobacterium tumafaciens.

Significance:

• Its incorporation into cotton makes the crop “tolerant”to glyphosate.
• This herbicide cannot be applied on normal cotton, as the chemical does not distinguish between the crops and weeds.