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Two Indian states suffer from whitefly attacks

Since India adopted genetically modified cotton in 2002, two states have been suffering the first major pest infestation since. This has raised concerns over the vulnerability of the lab-grown seeds that yield almost all the cotton in the world's top producer.

According to local officials and experts, in the states of Punjab and Haryana, damage from whitefly attack on the Bt cotton variety is likely to be extensive and has even been blamed for farmer suicides.

There’s debate over the usage of GM crops, though the country’s overall crop losses are expected to be low as the states are not major producing centres. At Monsanto, Bt cotton was tweaked by scientists to produce its own insecticide to kill pests such as bollworms. However, two years of drought have encouraged the spread of whitefly against which the strain has no resistance. The leaves of the cotton plant are damaged by the winged pest by sucking out fluid.

A spokesman for Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) said that Bt technology is effective only against specific type of bollworms that are known to cause maximum yield loss and economic damage to the cotton crop. To counter the infestation of whiteflies, at present there are no approved agriculture biotechnology solutions and farmers are recommended to spray approved pesticides as a solution.

Older cotton strains are cheaper than Bt seeds and these have to be bought new each year by farmers. Companies marketing GM cotton say that growers are better off as they get higher yields and save money on pesticide. However, some farmer groups are concerned about the growing dependency on the new varieties.

www.monsanto.com

 
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