With plastic garbage becoming the bane of modern societies, an Indian Australian scientist says 100 percent biodegradable bioplastics is the only way to go, especially in the growing populated economies of India and China. ”We are providing bio-responsible material solutions for the world market that deliver all the functionality of conventional petrochemically derived plastics in an economical, totally organic and eco-sensitive way,” Melbourne-based Plantic Technologies Limited’s Chief Technology Officer Kishan Khemani told IANS in an interview here.

With the BT variety proving its disease resistant capabilities, most of the farmers have opted for BT seeds. However, this time, agricultural officials point out that BT Cotton seed, which had proved its resistance against ’Kaya purugu’ had become vulnerable as it was affected by a pest known as ’Rasam purugu’. An agricultural official pointed out that it was too late to act and hoped that the yield might be as less as was being predicted now.

Faced with the enigma of rising salinity ingress on their farmlands, farmers can now look forward to transgenic crops. A central research institute is developing ”salt-tolerant” varieties of crops like groundnut, tobacco, cumin and banana that aim at revolutionising the food-basket in 6.7 million hectares of ”salinity-affected” farmland in the country, most of which is in Gujarat. The Bhavnagar-based Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI) is in the advanced stages of developing salt-tolerant varieties of groundnut and tobacco.

Union Minister for Health Anbumani Ramadoss on Tuesday said that he would oppose any move to introduce genetically modified food or seeds in the agriculture sector. Addressing a State-level farmer’s conference, organised by the Thamizhnadu Uzhavar Periyakkam, here, he said, ”As a Central Minister I will oppose any move to introduce GM food or seeds in India.” The Pattali Makkal Katchi had taken a policy decision to oppose introduction of genetically modified seeds.

The critics of the transgenic technology in agriculture are gearing up to challenge the regulator’s decision in the Supreme Court for allowing limited field trial of several genetically modified (GM) food crops, including Monsanto India’s Hishell and 900M Gold corn hybrids.

Indian cotton farmers have earned more income per hectare than their US counterparts, thanks to the adoption of genetically modified technology developed by companies like Monsanto, says a UK-based agri-economist. ”Farmers in developing countries like India are having better farm income benefits compared to the US, Australia and Argentina,” agri-economist Graham Brookes told PTI. After paying for GM technology, cotton farmers in India have earned an additional average income of 225 dollars (Rs 9,956) per hectare between 2002 and 2006 against 94 dollars per hectare in the US and 133 dollars per hectare in Argentina, he said.

The push to promote genetically modified (GM) wheat to combat global food shortages could slow as global commodity prices ease, a top industry executive said on Sunday. ”Now that prices have fallen off their peak, I don’t think it will be a priority,” said Vijay Iyengar, managing director of the Singapore-based grains trader Agrocorp International Pte Ltd.

”Because of the record high prices we saw the push for increasing supplies, and so the call for genetically modified grain seeds received a lot of attention.”

The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) has permitted Monsanto India Ltd to conduct limited field trials of corn hybrids that are genetically modified (GM) to confer resistance to the corn borer insect pest and application of its ’Roundup’ herbicide, according to highly placed sources. The sources said the clearance for ’bio-safety research level-1 field trials under confined conditions’ of the GM corn (maize) hybrids was granted at GEAC’s meeting last week.

With a vision to solve the cotton worm problem in India with environmentally benign solution, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), along with Department of Biotechnology facilitated the second technology transfer for Bollcure, a plant extract based bio-pesticide formulation developed by TERI, with PASURA Biotech Pvt. Ltd, Secunderabad. [...] Bollcure is a plant extract of Eucalyptus and it is 100% environment friendly, suitable for Conventional, Organic, Bt cotton and Integrated Pest Management crop practices

Orissa’s farmlands have become the battleground for several conflicting interests. There is the familiar battle over what should be grown — traditional food grains versus the more rewarding cash crops — but the more insidious battle is being waged over how the crops should be grown and what technology should be used. Cotton is the focus of this largely covert operation to wean farmers on a genetically modified (GM) regimen in a state which maintains that it intends to remain GM-free.