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`Bt cotton trials show yield rise'

Our Bureau

KOZHIKODE, Jan. 18

BIO-TECHNOLOGY research in the last 10 years has had the maximum impact on the health sector in the country, according to Dr. Manju Sharma, Secretary, Department of Bio-technology, Government of India.

Addressing mediapersons after her inaugural speech at the brainstorming meet on `Bio-technology in spices' being held at the Indian Institute of Spice Research (IISR) here on Monday, Dr. Manju Sharma said the pharmaceutical sector was expected to grow fr om $ 200 billions in the early '90s to $ 460 billions by 2005, primarily on the strength of the bio-technology interventions in product development. Twenty new drugs were undergoing clinical tests, three were in very advanced stages of trials and more th an 300 were in the pipeline, she said.

Corporate partnerships were being developed in bio-technology research in areas of product development, field testing of seeds and clinical trials of drugs.

In the agriculture sector the country had already sequenced 20 bacterial genomes, Dr. Sharma said adding that DBT gave priority to application of bio-technology research in agriculture, health, environment and industry.

Regarding the Mahyco/Monsanto field trials of Bt Cotton, Dr. Manju Sharma said contained experiments so far completed in 30 locations had shown a 14-38 per cent increase in cotton yield, that too ``without a single spraying of insecticide except on the s ucking pest.'' The trials, extended to 10 more locations, were now in the final stages and data collection work was on. Soon the data would be submitted to the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) and in the next six months to the Genetic Engi neering Approval Committee in the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).