Other crop varieties that could potentially be approved for commercial cultivation in future are BT cotton, BT brinjal and HT cotton.
The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) has approved the “environmental release” of indigenously developed genetically modified (GM) Mustard Seeds. This paves the way for possible ‘commercial use of the country’s first indigenously developed GM food crop.
Prior to this, Bt cotton – the plant containing the pesticide gene from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), has been grown in India for about twenty years. The approval makes GM mustard only the second approved transgenic crop in India after Bt cotton and the first such food crop that can be commercially cultivated by farmers.
Important to note, GEAC approval is not the final call for commercial release but just a step in this direction as it still needs approvals on higher levels for the final release.
The recent approval could pave the way for increased edible mustard oil production while reducing huge import costs for edible oil. It is being said that GM Mustard or DMH-11 seeds could yield about 30 per cent more than a traditional reference mustard variety.
For the benefit of farmers, DMH-11 could reduce the use of pesticides and insecticides during farming thereby leading to better yield production. In fact, other crop varieties that could potentially be approved for commercial cultivation in future are BT cotton, BT brinjal and HT cotton.
Mustard is one of India’s most significant winter crops cultivated between mid-October and late November. It is a self-pollinating crop which is especially difficult to hybridise naturally as it cross-pollinates itself.
