Seed producing companies on said they are working on developing weed-resistant cotton varieties as weeds are threatening the crop production in key growing regions such as Marathwada in Maharashtra.
Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech (MMB) is working on a technology to develop in-the-seed insect protection and herbicide tolerance for weed management, a MMB spokesperson said. Similarly, another seed company Advanta is working on bringing out herbicide tolerant cotton hybrids into the market by 2013. "Advanta is also working on developing hybrids tolerant to Glyphosate sprays," Advanta Spokesperson Smita Jayadevan said. While agri-chemicals major Syngenta offers weedicides like Fusilade and Gramoxone. Syngenta offers broad spectrum weedicides like Fusilade and Gramoxone to check weeds in cotton and other crops, Syngenta spokesperson Ravi KC said.
Chairman of pro-GM seed companies body ABLE-AG Ram Kaundinya said that weeds in cotton crop is a perennial problem and plant biotechnology could be the answer to it. The weed problem has aggravated the woes of farmers who are fighting with labour shortage and absence of low-cost technology to boost crop production. "Labour shortages will grow in the future and through GM technology we cannot only check the problem of weeds but also increase productivity," Kaundinya added.
Cotton is the second major cash crop in Maharashtra after sugarcane. "We are facing problems due to weeds, which is further aggravated due to labour shortage. If this situation persists then the cotton productivity will be affected," Mangoo Chavan, a farmer in Paithan taluk of Aurangabad said. Labourers do not want to remove 'gajar' grass as it causes cough and skin problems and there is no specific low cost treatment to check weeds, he added.
Agriculture Officer in the taluk Dinesh Lomte said that there is a problem of weeds especially, the parthorium or Gajar grass, which spreads rapidly. "Gajar grass can be removed by glyphosate, a herbicide, but using it also burns the crop," Lomte said.
Another farmer Gulab Rao Khandagle from Phulambari taluk, echoed similar problems. A K Ahire, Agriculture Officer in Phulambari said weeds are an issue of concern and there is no specific weedicide available to check it and at the same time ensure that the cotton crop is not affected.
"We are suggesting farmers to go for inter-cropping and use herbicides like Round Up to check weeds apart from manually removing weeds," Ahire said.