Jharkhand farmers recognised as gene saviors

Jharkhand farmers have been honored with the Genome Savior Award which gives national recognition to the importance of traditional crop genetic diversity and the urgent need for its conservation. The award came after the traditional varieties of rice in India were found to have two new genes that were resistant to the bacterial leaf blight in rice. The genes have been found in traditional rice varieties conserved in Gene Campaign’s Gene-Seed banks in Jharkhand. The discovery underscores the importance of conserving traditional crop varieties and the valuable genes that they contain. 

A  total of 325 traditional rice varieties from the Gene-Seed Bank collections were screened and field tested for disease resistance to the blight disease over a period of five years. The current data shows that eight traditional varieties Hardimuri, Kala Jeera, Bhatind, Sitwa Dhan, Sarna Gora, Chaina Gora, Lamba Asari and Jhulur are resistant to the disease. 

Among the genes that provide resistance to rice against bacterial leaf blight that have been isolated are Xa-21, Xa-26 and Xa-3. However the data reveals that none of these eight varieties carry these genes. This means s  that  it is the farmers who have conserved the new genes that provide resistance against bacterial leaf blight in rice. The varieties are being further tested in IARI and elsewhere in order to characterize the new genes. 

This discovery underscores the importance of conserving traditional crop germplasm as a valuable repository of genes and for its significance in future crop breeding.

Suspected GM soy in China’s state reserve

Authorities in China’s largest soy growing area, Heilongjiang province, have found suspected GM soybeans among its state reserve stocks. This was discovered after China agreed to buy 2 million tonnes of local non-GM soy from farmers as part of the plan to shore up domestic prices and help farmers cover higher input costs. But some traders took advantage of the higher prices offered and  delivered cheap imported soybean to some state warehouses. China had offered farmers US$538 per tonne for the soy, about 27 percent higher than the price of US GM soy.

Flood tolerant rice ---

Researchers in the US and at International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines have identified a gene-- Sub1A-- that is responsible for flood tolerance in rice. Identifying this gene has enabledplant breeders to use “precision breeding” to create new rice varieties that could recover after severe flooding and “produce abundant yields of high-quality grain.” Other than their flood tolerance, the new plants are virtually identical to popular high-yielding varieties. Researchers anticipate that the flood-tolerant rice plants will be available to farmers within the next two years. The plants are not subject to the regulatory testing that can delay release of genetically modified crops because they are the product of precision breeding, not genetic modification.

Insecticides more harmful than Bt crops, claims study ----

A news study published in journal PLoS One, claims that non-target insects are affected more by conventional insecticides than by Bt crops such as Bt maize and Bt cotton which are genetically engineered to produce insect-specific toxins. They target specific insect pests, but researchers also studied  if they affected non-target insects as well. They first compared the occurrence of these insects in Bt crops and non-Bt crops without any insecticides; then compared the insect populations in both types of crops treated with insecticides. And finally they compared the non-target insect populations in Bt crops without insecticides versus the populations in non-Bt crops treated with insecticides. The researchers ruled that impact of insecticides on non-target insect populations is more as compared to Bt cotton and Bt maize crops.

EU approves GM soybean for import -----

The EU has authorized imports of a GM soybean type for sale across its 27 national markets for the next 10 years. Developed and marketed by Monsanto, the soybean (MON 89788 and known commercially as Roundup RReady2Yield) is to be imported for use in food and animal feed. The soybean is designed to resist glyphosate Roundup Ready herbicides and produce increased yields for farmers. EU law allows for rubberstamp GMO approvals when ministers cannot, after a certain period, secure a consensus agreement under a complex weighted voting system either to approve or reject a company application. Europe’s livestock and feed manufacturing industries heavily depend on imported soybean as EU countries produce a minimal amount of soybeans in terms of overall EU consumption.