GM eggplant Could Reduce Pesticide Use 30%
21 October 2008 Researchers in India have begun field testing on genetically modified (GM) eggplants, engineered to resist fruit and shoot borers, which destroy 40% of the eggplant harvest in South and Southeast Asia. Growers currently use intensive applications of pesticides in eggplant fields to protect their crops against the pest.
The GM eggplant, created by the Indian agricultural company Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Co. (Mahyco), together with Monsanto, could reduce pesticide applications by 30%, experts say. Additionally, initial research indicates the GM eggplant may produce higher yields than conventional strains.
However, the new eggplant faces opposition from anti-biotechnology groups, which could delay Indian government approval of the improved eggplant, says Gregory Conko, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute based in Washington, DC, US. “Although it is good news that the Indian regulators have finally permitted field trials of these plants, it’s likely to be several more years before they are approved for commercial cultivation,” said Conko. “[L]ike Bt cotton, we should expect this process to take quite a long time, with three or four years’ worth of field trial results,” Conko said. He continued: “Because the fruit and shoot borer has developed increasing resistance to many of the frontline insecticides used in Indian agriculture, if Bt brinjal [eggplant] is even half as effective as Bt cotton has been, it could end up raising yields and saving farmers a lot of money they would otherwise spend on relatively ineffective insecticide sprays.”
Get The Newsletter Today!
