{"id":229234,"date":"2023-03-01T20:09:30","date_gmt":"2023-03-01T14:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=229234"},"modified":"2023-03-01T20:09:30","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T14:39:30","slug":"a-fresh-beginning-new-gm-cotton-can-reverse-the-yield-decline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/a-fresh-beginning-new-gm-cotton-can-reverse-the-yield-decline\/","title":{"rendered":"A fresh beginning – New GM cotton can reverse the yield decline"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>: The post is based on the article \u201cA fresh beginning – New GM cotton can reverse the yield decline\u201d <\/strong>published in the\u00a0Business Standard\u00a0<\/strong>on\u00a01st March 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Syllabus<\/strong>: GS-3: Awareness in the field of biotechnology.<\/p>\n

Relevance<\/strong>: About GM pest-resistant cotton.<\/p>\n

News<\/strong>: Recently, Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) for bio-safety field trials has approved the new genetically modified (GM) pest-resistant cotton.<\/p>\n

The move highlights a\u00a0significant shift in the government\u2019s policy concerning GM crops. In the future, more gene-tweaked crops, which are in different stages of development, may also be approved for the gainful utilisation of cutting-edge biotechnology for raising farm output and farmers\u2019 income.<\/span><\/p>\n

About the GM pest-resistant cotton<\/h2>\n

The crop is reported to have a set of genes derived from the soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). The crop produces a kind of protein in the plant that proves lethal for pink bollworms.<\/p>\n

Note<\/strong>: Pink bollworm is one of the most destructive pests which feed on the reproductive parts of the plant, depressing the overall yield and marring the lint quality of the produce.<\/em><\/p>\n

This can prove a boon for cotton growers who are looking for innately pest-tolerant varieties to cut down the cost of repeated spraying of pesticides.<\/p>\n

What is the need for GEAC approval of GM pest-resistant cotton?<\/h2>\n

The desperate need to increase cotton yields<\/strong>: India\u2019s cotton production is stagnating over the past several years at 34-35 million bales (of 170 kg each). Average crop productivity also has descended from 558 kg a hectare in 2007 to around 457 kg in 2021. Hence, fresh Bt-cotton strains are needed.<\/p>\n

Reduce cotton imports<\/strong>: India’s cotton exports witness a rise of 200% in value terms in the past 10 months of this fiscal year. Recently, the government waived off import duty on cotton, but this has limited effect.<\/p>\n

Why Bt-cotton varieties are notwithstanding pests?<\/h2>\n

Farmers are also partly responsible for the Bt-cotton varieties losing their inherent capability<\/strong> to withstand pests. Farmers have to plant a strip of non-GM plants on the periphery of the Bt-cotton fields. This belt acts as a refuge for pests and minimises the chances of their acquiring immunity against the Bt toxin by feeding on the main crop. But, the farmers do not undertake this recommended precaution.<\/p>\n

What are the challenges faced by Indian cotton industries?<\/h2>\n

Together price rise and reduced yields hit all segments of the employment-intensive textile sector, including ginners, yarn producers, textile mills, garment makers, and exporters.<\/p>\n

The price competitiveness of Indian textile and garment units is not improved compared to Indian counterparts such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Indonesia.<\/p>\n

What should be done before introducing GM pest-resistant cotton?<\/h2>\n

The farmers should be advised to strictly follow the planting of buffer in all GM crops. Else, the new GM pest-resistant cotton will also have limited life spans and would need to be replaced far more quickly than is normally necessary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: The post is based on the article \u201cA fresh beginning – New GM cotton can reverse the yield decline\u201d published in the\u00a0Business Standard\u00a0on\u00a01st March 2023. Syllabus: GS-3: Awareness in the field of biotechnology. Relevance: About GM pest-resistant cotton. News: Recently, Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) for bio-safety field trials has approved the new genetically… Continue reading A fresh beginning – New GM cotton can reverse the yield decline<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10311,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[10503,216],"class_list":["post-229234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-business-standard","tag-gs-paper-3","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1703182830},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10311"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229234\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}