Icrisat plans to start open field trials for transgenic groundnut

The International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) plans to start open field trials for transgenic groundnut during the coming kharif season in August. Icrisat has, for the first time, also conducted contained field trial for transgenic chickpea crop.

Kiran K Sharma, principal scientist (genetic transformation lab), Icrisat, told Business Standard that the institute has successfully completed three contained field trials within the institute and plans to start open field trials from August.

"We have approached the Centre and also the Department of Biotechnology to sponsor the research which is required to take the product through the validation process," Sharma said. The crop would initially be tested in Rajasthan where the Peanut Clump Virus disease is most prevalent, he added.

According to him, the transgenic groundnuts also get infected at a very early stage during seed germination. However, unlike the untransformed groundnuts, the transgenic groundnuts do not support virus multiplication and carry very little or no virus by the time of harvesting, and no effect of the disease on growth and development of plants.

Speaking about the transgenic chickpea, he said, "The Legume Pod Borer is the major virus which affects the chickpea crop, and since India is one of the largest producer of this crop the institute has developed the transgenic chickpea."

The virus damages around $500-million worth of crop across the world and in India it accounts for a loss of around $3,00,000, he added.

"We would be carrying out two more field trials in the next 24 months and then would validate it in the open field trial before launching it in the commercial market. So, the whole process will take another five years," he said.

On the investments required in the sector, Sharma said, "Once the contained field trials are completed, we would require around Rs 3 crore to take the product for validation and develop packages," he said.