Cotton in India
During field monitoring of the 2009 cotton crop in the state of Gujarat in western India, Monsanto1 and Mahyco scientists detected unusual survival of pink bollworm to first-generation single-protein Bollgard I (event MON531) cotton. Testing was conducted to assess for resistance to Cry1Ac, the Bt protein in Bollgard I cotton, and pink bollworm resistance to Cry1Ac, the protein expressed in Bollgard I, was confirmed in four districts in Gujarat – Amreli, Bhavnagar, Junagarh and Rajkot. Gujarat is one of nine states in India where cotton is grown. To date, no insect resistance to Cry1Ac protein in Bollgard I has been confirmed outside the four districts in Gujarat. Our testing of the susceptibility of pink bollworm was limited to our Bollgard I product and we did not include other Cry1Ac based cotton products offered by other technology providers in the Indian Market. This has been reported to the Indian Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC). Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech (MMB)2 has been conducting field monitoring research across India since 2003, the second season of Bt cotton in India.
Bollgard I products continue to control bollworm pests other than pink bollworm in the four districts in Gujarat where pink bollworm resistance has been confirmed. In addition, no instance of insect resistance in any of India’s cotton growing states, including the four districts in Gujarat, has been observed with Bollgard II, the second-generation Bt cotton technology. Bollgard II, introduced in 2006, contains two proteins, Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab.
Current monitoring efforts to manage insect resistance by an Indian-expert network will be expanded. The network is led by the Director of the Central Institute of Cotton Research who is nominated by GEAC. The network will continue to conduct extensive insect monitoring, encourage appropriate stewardship practices such as proper refuge planting through an intensified farmer education campaign, and explore new methods of refuge seed delivery. We will conduct extensive monitoring studies in 2010 and beyond to monitor and assess for insect resistance and identify such locations if and when further resistance is confirmed.
Resistance is natural and expected, so measures to delay resistance are important. Among the factors that may have contributed to pink bollworm resistance to the Cry1Ac protein in Bollgard I in Gujarat are limited refuge planting and early use of unapproved Bt cotton seed, planted prior to GEAC approval of Bollgard I cotton, which may have had lower protein expression levels.
While Bollgard I cotton products continue to deliver value to Indian farmers, increasingly Indian farmers are planting two-protein Bollgard II cotton because it reduces the need for insecticide sprays compared to Bollgard I and increases yield. Over 65% of Gujarat cotton farmers chose Bollgard II cotton in 2009, and pre-season bookings indicate that over 90% of Gujarat cotton farmers are expected to plant Bollgard II in the 2010 season. Overall, approximately 80% of all Indian cotton farmers are expected to plant Bollgard II in the 2010 season.
The findings in Gujarat are an important reminder to Indian farmers. When using Bt cotton products it is essential to regularly monitor and scout fields throughout the season for insect presence and plant appropriate non-Bt refuge. Furthermore, farmers must adopt measures such as need-based application of insecticide sprays during the crop season, and properly manage crop residue and unopened bolls after harvest. Examples of such practices include tillage and cattle grazing to minimize the survival and spread of pink bollworm.
Continuous R&D and innovation to develop new value-added technologies is imperative to stay ahead of insect resistance. To support such innovation, Government policies should encourage investment in R&D which will result in Indian farmers having a wider choice of better and advanced technologies.
Monsanto is committed to developing new high performing products for farmers, and is currently working on a three-protein Bt cotton technology. Monsanto is open to collaborating with other technology providers in India to develop products that use the best available technologies for the benefit of Indian farmers.
1 Monsanto includes Monsanto Holdings Pvt. Ltd, India and Monsanto, USA
2 Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech (MMB), a 50:50 joint venture between Mahyco and Monsanto, markets Bollgard and Bollgard II Bt cotton technologies in India.
