In a first for the country, Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana has developed the country's first GM variety of cotton - PAU Bt 1 and F1861.
Cotton is the only GM crop cultivated in India.
The ICAR has identified three Bt cotton varieties–F1861, PAU Bt1 and RS 2013 for cultivating in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Genetic modification of cotton involves introduction of Bt bacterial gene coding for a protein that kills the bollworm cotton pest.
All three varieties carry the Cry1Ac gene from the Bt bacteria. Bt stands for Bacillus thuringiensis.
This imparts resistance against bollworm cotton pest.
PAU Bt 1 variety was completely developed at PAU, whereas the F1861 and RS2013 were converted to Bt version by Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur.
Punjab Agricultural University: Know More- Founded: 1962
- Academic staff: 1,250
- Vice-chancellor: Baldev Singh Dhillon
