Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, November 10
The recent approval of genetically modified (GM) mustard seeds has caused a furore among farmer outfits and anti-GM activists.
While the new variety promises better yield and decrease in burden of edible oil imports, the anti-GM crusaders fear it will lead to increased use of chemicals and can be detrimental for the winter delicacy of Punjab, “saron da saag”.
They cite increased use of chemicals and its impact on honeybees as the downsides for the crop.
About technology: Mustard flowers contain both male and female organs and the crop is pre-dominantly self-pollinating. Therefore, a pollination control mechanism is required to disallow self-pollination and encourage cross- pollination for hybrid seed production. For this, one of the two parental lines of a hybrid has to be made male sterile so that it receives pollen from the other parent to set seed. Seeds harvested from the male sterile line are hybrid seeds which can be provided to the farmers, who can reap the benefit of higher productivity of the hybrids.
Geneticist and former Delhi University Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental, who developed the seeds along with his team, said it would lead to an increase in the yield, despite contrary claims. “The workload of farmers will increase and they will really have to work hard on the breeding programme to achieve results. The country’s dependence on imports for edible oil will decrease,” said Pental.
Meanwhile Dr Surinder Singh Banga, former ICAR national professor, said that it should not be propagated that the GM mustard will increase yield overnight but it would provide more options to the plant breeder to develop more productive hybrids.
Meanwhile, Dr APS Mann, Biochemist and ex-Dean, College of Basic Science, PAU, said Punjab would lose its trademark winter dish, ‘saron da saag’ and ‘makki di roti’. “Who wants to eat weedicide laden Saag, without any taste? Farm workers who work for removing weeds from the fields will also lose their jobs,” he said.
Dr Pental said there would be limited use of herbicide on this variety and it would be fit for human consumption. More crop can be produced even on small area which will in turn ensure better food supply.
HS Lakhowal, general secretary, BKU, said that it would result in monopolisation of the seed market. “Farmers’ will be be forced to buy from the private companies who will recommend which seeds and pesticides to buy,” he said.
Environmentalists have been expressing concern over its impact on honeybees. Dr Pental said field studies on its impact on the bees would be done but only during commercial cultivation of the crop. “Countries such as Australia, Canada and the US are big producers of honey and are also using GM mustard seeds. If it has not impacted honeybees there, how will it have an adverse impact on pollinators here? Bees are life sustaining pollinators,” he said.
