Rasi can sell BT cotton seeds

Rasi Seeds has received the approval from Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) to produce three lakh packets of RCH2 BT (bacillus thurengiensis) variety of cotton seeds.

Rasi is the second company in the country to get GEAC approval for producing BT cotton seeds. Mahyco was the first venture to get approval in April 2002 to produce three strains - MECH 162, MECH12 and MECH 184.

Rasi can now sell BT cotton seeds in six states - Gujarat, Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Mahyco's approval also covers these six states.

Rasi officials said the company was awaiting approval for three more varieties - RCH 164, RCH 144 and RCH 20.

Rasi managing director M Ramasami said, "The approval from GEAC covers 100 hectares. This would roughly translate to three lakh packets. We have not yet decided on the quantity we will finally produce." After quality approvals, Rasi had recorded 95 per cent strike rate and only 5 per cent waste in the past.

Rajendran Ramasami, executive director of Rasi, claimed the RCH2 hybrid variety was already popular in the six states.

The RCH2 BT will be ready for the market for the 2004 kharif season starting from June. The processing work is expected to be completed in the three weeks.

The BT variety of cotton seeds was resistant to bollworm attacks. Loss of cotton yield owing to bollworm is 25-50 per cent in India.

The loss fogire for China is 10-25 per cent and for USA, 5-10 per cent. Ramasami said the higher loss in India is on account of poor agricultural practices. The scope for saving the cotton crop from bollworm in India is higher than in China or the US, Ramasami added.

"Over 8.5 million hectares of land in India is under cotton cultivation. We need more varieties of Bt cotton seeds to meet demand and increase the overall output of cotton in the country," Ramasami said. Selecting the right hybrid variety cotton seed to insert the BT gene is crucial to success.