Genetically modified virus-resistant potato and groundnut, and drought and salinity-tolerant rice are under various stages of trials in the green houses and confined fields of select universities and research institutions in the country.
The programme is spearheaded by the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project-II (ABSP-II) of the Cornell University, which helped the development of the fruit and shoot borer-resistant brinjal and led it to the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) gateway for commercialisation.
The GM brinjal was developed by the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company (Mahyco). The other three were developed by researchers in the US universities. ABSP-II facilitated the transfer of the genetic technology for all the four to public sector universities and institutions for the development of native varieties.
Prof Ray Wu of the Cornell University has demonstrated that stress tolerance in plants can be induced by manipulating the genes that are responsible for the accumulation of the sugar ‘trehalose’. Prof Wu’s system is designed in such a way that the bioengineered genes are specifically turned on when the plant is under drought or salt stress.
Through ABSP-II, the trehalose genes has been transferred to Directorate of Rice Research (DRR), Hyderabad, to be introduced into local rice varieties and to evaluate the positive events in green house conditions and screen them for drought tolerance.
According to information form Sathguru Management Consultants, regional coordinator for ABSP-II, DRR will conduct confined field evaluations for drought tolerance for the transgenic lines of IR64 and the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI), Karnal, will evaluate the salinity tolerance of the same. The Tamil Nadu Agriculture University is to evaluate the efficacy of the selected events through limited field trials.
It is estimated that in India, 30% of the agricultural area receives less than 750 mm rainfall and chronically drought-prone and 35% of the area with 750-1125mm rainfall is also subject to drought once in four to five years. ABSP-II estimates show that 68% of the total sown area covering about 142 million hectare is vulnerable to drought conditions. Moreover India accounts for nearly 47% of saline, 20% of sodic and 7% of acid sulphate soils of tropical Asia.
For fighting the dreaded ‘late blight’ virus in potatoes, ABSP-II has assisted the transfer of ‘Rb gene’ to the Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), Shimla. The gene was isolated from a wild relative of potato by researchers at the University of Wisconsin and incorporated into a popular potato variety in the US.
CPRI has transferred the Rb gene to two popular varieties ‘kufri jyothi’ and ‘kufri bahar’. Confined field trials were conducted during November 2008. It will be field evaluated during May-June 2009.
The disease, which attacks almost 50% of the crop in the country, could not be controlled by pesticides or fungicides. Genetic engineering is giving an affordable solution to poor farmers. Groundnut cultivated in 7.5 million hectare in India by over nine million marginal farmers in semi-arid regions is subject to the attack of ‘tobacco streak virus’ (TSV) leading to severe crop and income loss.
Under ABSP-II, Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Donald Danforth Plant Sciences Centre, USA teamed up with Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad, and National Bureau of Plant Genetic Research, New Delhi, to develop transgenic groundnut with ability to fight TSV. Two varieties of groundnut plants were developed and were being evaluated in green house.
