Bt Brinjal | UPSC

Bt BRINJAL

WHAT IS BT BRINJAL

• In Bangladesh, eggplant is known as “brinjal.” It’s also known as “talong” in the Philippines and “aubergine” in Europe.
• “Bt brinjal,” a genetically engineered variety of eggplant.

• Bt brinjal-4—the variety ; can produce an insecticidal protein that is toxic to FSB.

DEVELOPERS

• Bt brinjal technology is not owned by any company.
• India-based Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Co.(Mahyco) did the first work to establish that Bt genes .
• Mahyco initially developed an eggplant that expresses Cry1Ac (EE-1) to control eggplant fruit and shoot borer.
• Meanwhile, the University of the Philippines-Los Baños has been conducting similar research on its local cultivars.

THE NEED OF BT BRINJAL

• Brinjal is a very popular fruit in South Asia.
• However, it is subject to frequent and intense attacks by the FSB.

Bt Brinjal | UPSC

• This practice exposes farmers, consumers, and the environment to high levels of hazardous pesticides.
• It also represents a substantial expense that smallholder farmers cannot easily afford.
• Worse, farmers often experience significant losses even after applying pesticides.

AVAILABILITY

• Recently, there has been progress towards establishing appropriate regulatory structures for testing and possible commercialization in the Philippines.
• The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) approved its commercialization in 2009 following field trials and safety evaluations.

PRINICPLE

• Researchers inserted insecticidal crystal (Cry1Ac) proteins from the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacterium into the genetic code of brinjal cultivars.

• The Bt approach to insect control has been safely and effectively used globally in other crops, such as maize, for over two decades.

NEED FOR PESTICIDES

• Bt brinjal is the first genetically engineered food crop created specifically for smallholder farmers in a developing nation.

BT BRINJAL SEEDS

• Farmers can save Bt brinjal seeds because the approved varieties of Bt brinjal are open-pollinated.
• This is best done when farmers follow best practice guidelines, such as using conventional brinjal borders around the plot for growing Bt brinjal.

SAFETY ISSUES

• Extensive international research has documented that Cry1Ac proteins are safe for human food and livestock
  feed.
• Rigorous food and feed safety studies, evaluation and nutritional studies, confirmed that Bt brinjal is as safe as its non-Bt varieties.
• Other studies have found Bt brinjal has no adverse environmental effects.

• These extensive studies indicate that Bt brinjal has no unintended effects.

DOES INDIA NEED BT BRINJAL

• India was the centre of origin and the centre of diversity for brinjal.
• Like Bt cotton, developers claimed they developed this variety to target the shoot borer pest and increase yield.
• But the pest is not the problem for a brinjal farmer. The price offered for the crop is.
• The Bt technology worked initially, but the pink ball worm became resistant to the Bt toxin within five years.
• The GEAC has now, however, gone ahead with trials for Event 142, stating the earlier moratorium had no implications for this variety.