Question

Which of the following Bt crops is being grown in India by the farmers?
A. Maize
B. Cotton
C. Brinjal
D. Mango

Answer 1

Hint: Genetically modified crops are produced using recombinant DNA technology for better yield and resistance to pests and insects.

Complete Answer:
- The living organisms whose genetic material are artificially manipulated in the laboratory through genetic engineering are the genetically modified organisms.
- The maize is genetically modified but these are usually not grown in India. The reason behind this is maize is grown in India with high yields and is a nutritional source for an individual. So there is no need to modify maize. But crops grown in the US are 90% bt crops which includes cotton, corn and soybean.
- The bt brinjal is banned in India because, they are non profitable for the Indian farmers and the bt brinjal lacks nutrition value which is present in the ordinary brinjal.
- India is famous for production of mangoes and therefore there are no bt mangoes developed yet.
- India ranks first in the production of cotton. The bt cotton is supplied to Maharashtra by agricultural biotechnology companies. Bt cotton produces an insecticide to combat bollworm.

Therefore, the correct answer is option B. Cotton.

Additional information: Bt crops are produced by genetic engineering that creates combinations of plant, animal, bacteria, and virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.
- Cry gene from Bacillus thuringiensis is inserted into the plant genome by recombinant DNA technology. This modified DNA in plants produces bt toxin and when the insect eats the plant, the bt toxins enters the gut of the insect and damages cells blocking the gut which results in death of the insect.
- Bt crops are produced by agricultural biotechnology company Mahyco, Maharashtra. They are known to produce bt cotton and bt brinjal. The bt brinjal is banned and the bt cotton is also developed in controversies that it failed to reduce the need for pesticides and increase yield.

Note: The GMOs are novel life forms produced by bt companies but are a threat to not only to farmer sovereignty but also National food security of any country.