BT cotton awaits nod for field trial

BT cotton is awaiting field trial permission in cotton production after successful tests in two phases.

According to the Bangladesh Cotton Development Board, a greenhouse trial of BT cotton was held in 2019 at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) laboratory. With a good result in this trial, a field trial in a controlled environment was held in Sreepur, Gazipur next year and the result was satisfactory.

Md Akhtaruzzaman, additional director, Cotton Development Board, told The Business Standard (TBS), "Evidence of resistance to bollworms has been found in BT cotton leaves. At the same time, the test revealed its genetic features."

Recently, the technical committee of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) held a meeting on the results of the BT cotton trial where the Cotton Development Board provided favourable information about the trial and its results.

BARC is due to send the results to the Ministry of Agriculture. The committee concerned of the ministry will send these to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change after review. The Bangladesh National Committee on Biosafety, chaired by the secretary of the ministry, will review the genetically modified product.

With the approval of the committee, it will go into experimental production through farmers in different regions.

The Cotton Development Board said a few issues have been found in the two phases of experimental production in the greenhouse and controlled environment, for example, BT cotton can prevent attacks of cotton bollworms.

Additionally, the yield per hectare was around 3.5 tonnes whereas the production of ordinary cotton is around 2.5-3 tonnes, he added.

When asked, Cotton Board Executive Director Dr Alhaj Uddin Ahmed told TBS, "We have completed the two-stage test and got positive results. If approved now, we will start field trials in different regions next season."

The scientific name of the seed is Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) cotton. Its two varieties – JKCH 1947 BT and JKCH 1950 BT – are being tested in this country to determine if they are suitable for Bangladesh. With permission, the field trial could be held in July or August.

JK Agri Genetics Limited of India has supplied the two varieties. Meanwhile, at least 25% of the demand for cotton in Bangladesh is met by imports from India.

The government approved the BT cotton test in 2017.