GENETICALLY MODIFIED OILSEEDS TO BE IMPORTED
GM COTTON TO GET COMMERCIALISED
Monsanto is hopeful that its Bollgard II version of genetically modified (GM) cotton would be ready for commercial cultivation in the country in the 2006 planting season. "The Bollgard II lines incorporated in selected cotton hybrids of M a h a r a s h t r a Hybrid Seeds C o m p a n y (Mahyco) have completed a year of large-scale field trials in 2004. There will be one more such round of trials this year and if everything goes well, its commercial release would take place during kharif 2006," said Dr MK Sharma, MD, Mahyco Monsanto Biotech India (MMB). The company is a 50:50 joint venture between Monsanto and Jalna-based Mahyco and an Indian licensee for Bollgard.