1Crop Protection DivisionICAR-Central Institute for Cotton Research, Nagpur440010, Maharashtra, India
2Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University, Darsi523247, Andhra Pradesh, India
3International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), 1629, K. Street, NW, Suite702, Washington DC20006, USA
*Email: sandhya.kranthi@gmail.com (corresponding author)
#Invited Review for the National Symposium on Entomology 2018: Advances and Challenges, held at Hyderabad, 10-12 December 2018
Genetically modified crops are proven to protect crops from pest and diseases. Most of the GM crops either have insect resistance gene or weedicide resistance gene or both. In India only GM crop approved for commercial cultivation is cotton expressing cry1Ac and cry2Ab gene against bollworms. Other crops that where genetically modified against major insect pests by introducing cry genes in India are paddy, chickpea, mustard and eggplant. Albeit the empirical evidence of its efficacy against insect pests, commercial cultivation of these food crops is being kept on moratorium due to biosafety issues.
Genetically modified crops, Insect resistance, Bt-cotton, Bt-rice, Bt-chickpea, Bt-brinjal, Cry toxin
