Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II
Supporting agricultural development through biotechnology
India
Project: Fruit and Shoot Borer Resistant (FSBR)/Bt Eggplant
Technology
Eggplants genetically engineered to express the Cry1Ac gene are being developed to control the eggplant fruit and shoot borer. Cry1Ac is a gene from the naturally occurring bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis, and produces an insecticidal protein that protects plants from some caterpillars, including the eggplant fruit and shoot borer.
Expected Benefits
Resource-limited farmers stand to benefit economically from:
- High quality eggplant seeds available from public-sector sources at affordable prices
- Reduced production losses from the eggplant fruit and shoot borer
- Increase in clean, marketable fruit
- Reduced production costs due to less frequent use of pesticide sprays
Apart from this, Bt. eggplant improves human and animal health, and reduces damage to the environment as a result of less frequent chemical pesticide sprays. The project has also facilitated improved capacity in the areas of research, licensing and communication through hands-on training, partnerships, exchange visits and workshop participation.
Partners
Participating Countries
Bangladesh, India, Philippines
Country Specific Data for Eggplant in India
Economic Importance: Fruit and shoot borer is the most serious eggplant pest in India. Damage by this pest starts soon after transplanting and continues until the fruit is harvested. Crop loss is estimated to be anywhere from 54% to 70%. To control the pest, the use of chemical insecticides has been the most common approach. Farmers often spray once a week to control this pest. This excessive pesticide use threatens the health of farmers and consumers, and raises the cost of eggplant for consumers. In addition, the insect is becoming tolerant to chemical pesticides, making it more difficult to control.
Current Status: Partners in India have developed 16 transgenic Bt eggplant varieties. The Bt eggplant product was approved by India’s Committee (GEAC) in October 2009 but commercialization of the product is currently under a moratorium imposed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
Partners within the Country
Project: Tobacco Streak Virus Resistant (TSVR) Groundnut
Technology
Viruses are encapsulated by a coat protein (CP) that acts as a protective cage for the virus. It has been well documented in many plants that introduction of a specific viral coat protein can render plant resistant to the target virus. The TSV coat protein gene from the virus that occurs in India was transformed into a local variety of groundnut, essentially vaccinating it against the virus, through its own defense mechanism.
Expected Benefits
Partners
Participating Countries
India
Country Specific Data for Groundnut in India
Economic Importance: In India groundnut is an important oilseed crop, cultivated on 7.5 million hectares, with an annual production of 8 million tons. More than nine million small and marginal farmers depend on this and other small oilseed crops for their livelihoods.
Oilseed crops such as groundnut are cultivated in unfavorable areas for agriculture, where farmers have limited options to grow other crops. The majority of these areas have a single crop in the year and farmers are dependent on the success of these crops for their sustenance as well as to feed their livestock. Groundnut is grown exclusively by small and marginal farmers who have witnessed erosion of their income by more than half due to the virus.
Farmers and their political representatives in affected areas have made finding a solution to TSV one of their highest agricultural priorities and are very supportive of the ABSPII initiative. This cooperative effort will provide an opportunity to commercialize the product once the technology and the product are tested and ready for use.
Current Status:
Partners within the Country
Project: Late Blight Resistant (LBR) Potato
Technology
A late blight resistance gene (Rb) has been isolated from a wild relative of potato (Solanum bulbocastanum). Unfortunately this variety is distant enough that it cannot be conventionally crossed with commercial potato. The gene conferring late blight resistance to Solanum bulbocastanum has been cloned. Transgenic potatoes expressing this gene have been shown to be resistant to late blight and an event has been selected that shows a high level of resistance. ABSPII partners are using this event to conventionally breed this technology into locally popular varieties.
Expected Benefits
Partners
Participating Countries
Bangladesh, India, Indonesia
Country Specific Data for Potato in India
Economic Importance: Potato, a cash crop, has completely replaced many traditional crops (such as buckwheat, hogmillet and foxtail millet) since the 1960s in India, offering a good source of income to resource-poor farmers. Potato offers a very high weight of food per acre, making it a good option for small subsistence farmers. A very limited quantity of potato is exported, mostly to Sri Lanka and countries in the Middle East, but it is primarily consumed domestically.
Potato is relatively expensive in India because of high production costs, namely poor seed quality and the heavy use of fungicide to control late blight.
Current Status: Partners in India have conducted multi location field trials and have selected a candidate event for commercial release. Partners are currently developing the biosafety and regulatory dossier. A second generation product with a stacked gene (RNAi) is also under consideration.
Partners within the Country
Project: Drought and Salinity Tolerant (DST) Rice
Technology
A drought and salt tolerant technology developed by the late Prof. Ray Wu at Cornell University is being tested in genetically engineered rice to assess the plant’s abilities to tolerate high-stress growing conditions. The technology involves manipulating genes required for synthesis of the naturally occurring sugar trehalose. Greenhouse studies assessing the technology have been quite promising.
Expected Benefits
Partners
Participating Countries
Bangladesh, India
Country Specific Data for Rice in India
Economic Importance: Rice is grown on about 44 million hectares in India. Over 9 million hectares are severely impacted by drought and salinity. Water available for agriculture has fallen by nearly 10% during the last decade because of increasing demand from industrial and domestic sectors. The Department of Biotechnology in India considers this situation a high priority and has agreed to provide matching support for ABSPII’s stress tolerance project.
Current Status: The trehalose gene has been incorporated into Indian rice lines by ICGEB for development of Drought and Salinity Tolerant Rice. The drought and salinity tolerant lines are undergoing field trials for evaluation of efficacy.
Partners within the Country
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