In a setback to the genetically modified cotton boom, the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee has denied permission for large-scale trials of five Bt hybrids/varieties developed by the Central Institute for Cotton Research, citing the Supreme Court's May 8 order.

The Nagpur-based institute, affiliated to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, had sought to undertake large-scale trials and seed production of four cotton hybrids (NHH-44, DBt-H1, DBt-H2 and Dbt-H5) and one variety (Bikaneri Nerma), incorporating the cry1Ac gene isolated from a soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).

These indigenously-developed GM cotton hybrids/varieties, when approved for commercial cultivation, could provide greater choice to farmers, who now shell out Rs 750 or more for every 450 gm packet of Bt Cotton seeds that can be planted on an acre.

The CICR hybrids are expected to be cheaper than the existing 130-odd privately bred approved cotton hybrids, which are all based on four 'events' or gene construct technologies belonging to the US life sciences major, Monsanto (Bollgard-I and Bollgard-II), JK Agri-Genetics ('Event-1') and Nath Seeds Ltd ('GFM').]

Moreover, in the case of Bikaneri Nerma Bt - the GM version of a popular American cotton variety - the farmer can multiply the seeds himself and avoid repeated purchase unlike in hybrids.

The CICR's Bt Cotton strains had undergone confined strip trials during the 2005 kharif season, followed by multi-location field trails in kharif 2006 at four locations each in the Central, South and North Zones.

Further, they were subjected to bio-safety studies, including pollen flow, toxicity and allerginicity analysis, impact of cry1Ac protein on soil micro-flora and test-feeding of small laboratory animals.

Having successfully passed these stages, the department of biotechnology's monitoring and evaluation committee had recommended the CICR event for LST before the GEAC in its June 22 and August 8 meetings. But GEAC did not give the go-ahead.

The reasons pointed out by the GEAC were while the institute had done the feeding studies on small laboratory animals, it had not completed the same for large animals, i.e. cows and buffaloes. The bio-safety studies were, therefore, technically incomplete.

Incidentally, the GEAC had cited the same reason - of not having completed feeding studies in goats and lactating cows - while not granting LST approval for another new Bt Cotton event '9124' developed by Bangalore-based Metahelix Life Sciences Pvt Ltd.

The second ground on which the CICR event could not be cleared was the institute not being able to submit a test protocol that could detect 'contamination' of non-GM cotton by the DNA of its transgenic hybrids/varieties at levels as low as 0.01 per cent.
While the government has filed applications for vacating or amending the test protocol directions, the matter is scheduled for hearing next only sometime next month.

By then, the planting season would be over, which means LST of the CICR and Metahelix events will take place only next year and the farmers may have to wait till kharif 2010 to try out these home-grown cotton transgenics