Five GM crops get approval for field trial

June 26, 2013

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has given permission certain companies as well as the research institutes for conducting the field trials of five GM (Genetically Modified) crops. Crops which are permitted for trials are GM Cotton, Maize, Castor, Wheat and Rice.
What is special about these GM crops?
The specialty of GM crops is that they are engineered for getting protection against the insects. In addition, these crops are resistant to salinity and water and are more efficient in using nitrogen needed for their proper growth. The GEAC, set up under the Union Ministry of Environment, permitted Bayer Bioscience to perform event selection trials on 45 transgenic rice events, comprising six genes. It would test insecticidal proteins such as Cry1Ab and Cry1Ca on castor crops that give the plant resistance to insects such as stem borer. These trials will be conducted in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Kerala. Bayer has also been permitted to conduct pollen flow study in cotton to measure the distance pollen containing a herbicide tolerant gene flows. Mahyco’s proposal to conduct even selection trials at more locations for experiments in nitrogen use efficiency in cotton has also been cleared.

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