Bejo Sheetal inks pact with IARI for Bt brinjal

Jalna-based Bejo Sheetal Seeds Pvt Ltd (BSSPL) and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) have signed a memorandum of understanding for Bt brinjal. IARI will give CRY-1XBT gene of P2 generation to BSSPL.

BSSPL is a market leader in hybrid seeds of brinjal, chilli, tomato, okra, onion, melons and gourds. BSSPL exports seeds to Asian and African countries. It is the biggest true potato seeds (TPS) producer in non-traditional TPS producing areas.

BSSPL is a research-based seeds company with a presence in the Indian hybrid vegetable seeds market. The company has a 20-year-old joint venture with Bejo Zaden of the Netherlands. In addition, it has subsidiary organisations involved in the seeds business of open pollinated vegetables and hybrids in field crops such as cotton, maize and sunflower.

Baijal, director, BSSPL, said, "We test all temperate seeds of cabbage, cauliflower, beetroot, carrot, onion, broccoli and other exotic vegetables grown by our collaborators, Bejo Zaden bv and select hybrids suitable for India. These we import and sell all over the country."

At present, the company has 350 acre of land all of which is used for experimental crops apart from a tissue culture laboratory, plant pathology laboratory and biotechnology laboratory.

Research activities are also conducted in 13 acre of poly-houses. The company also provides seeds to the West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, National Seeds Corporation and Maharashtra State Seeds Corporation.

It also has a joint venture with the West Bengal State Food Processing & Horticulture Development Corporation. The company holds an 80 per cent stake in the JV and the West Bengal government has the remaining stake.

"The West Bengal government gave us 54 acre of land where we are producing hybrid tomato and eggplant seeds for them. We have strong research and production infrastructure. We produce all the tropical vegetable seeds at Ranebennur (Karnataka), Jalna (Maharashtra) and Himachal Pradesh. We also produce capsicum and chilly seeds in China. We have already released 580 hybrids of various vegetable crops of cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, chilly, capsicum, onion, brinjal, carrot, beet, coriander, spinach, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, sponge gourd, pumpkin, cucumber, watermelon and muskmelon," said Baijal.

The joint effort of IARI & Bejo Sheetal Seeds Bt brinjal will be released soon. The company claims that the seed product will bring a sigh of relief to hundreds of brinjal cultivators who are involved in a constant fight with the fruit & shoot borer (leucinobes orbonalis) affecting the size, yield and shape of the fruits. Farmers have to spend much on controlling it by spraying.