Jayadhar set for GM trials, NOC from State awaited

With the University of Agricultural Sciences-Dharwad (UAS-D) receiving initial clearance for transgenic research on Jayadhar — a local cotton variety cultivated exclusively in five districts of Karnataka — all eyes are now on the State government.

Permission has been granted by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) for trials on Jayadhar, subject to permission from the State government. While the university, it is learnt, has sought NOC from the State government, it is expected to start trials in August.

The research on transgenic cotton will be undertaken at Dharwad, Guntur, Nagpur, and Surat and Navsari in Gujarat, and will be on insect resistance (Helicoverpa armigera).

Confirming the development, highly-placed sources in UAS-D said: “Permission is only for initial trials, that too in the laboratory. The experiment is to find out if Jayadhar can be a viable cotton variety at the field level. We are a public institution and there is a necessity to conduct such experiments.” The source, however, was not sure about the permission required from the State Biodiversity Board. “We have sought permission from the State government,” the source said.

However, the proposed experiment has not gone down well in the desi cotton-growing community. “This experiment will affect local variety like Jayadhar, which has evolved over hundreds of years. It will be a set back for the revival of desi cotton initiatives and will also lose a rich diversity that promises to offer a viable alternative in the changing climate scenario,” said Krishnaprasad, convener of Desi Cotton Growers’ Association. The gene pool should not be contaminated at all, he added.

Despite repeated attempts Minister of State for Agriculture Krishna Byre Gowda was unavailable for comment on whether the State government will issue the NOC for conducting GM trials on Jayadhar cotton.