Search for pest resistant cotton continues

Science researchers conducting trials on the Genetically Modified (GM) cotton still have a long way to go with their work even though the National Biosafety Committee, responsible for giving research permits has given them a go- ahead to continue with the second phase of the research in a bid to come up with the required quality that will not succumb to pests and other vectors which usually affect our traditional cotton species.

The National Biosafety Committee (NBC) housed by the National Council of Science and Technology last week gave the researchers a second permit to continue with the research work. The principal investigator of the two type GM cotton varieties called Herbicide Tolerant (Ht) Cotton and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) cotton, Dr Thomas Areke, said his team, after successfully conducting the first trials at the National Semi-Arid Resource Research Institute (NaSARRI) at Serere in Soroti District as well as Mubuku in Kasese, requested the committee to give them a go ahead to continue with the research work to establish the resistance of the varieties against the bollwarm which is a major pest affecting cotton here.

The NBC approved the GM cotton trials in 2007 but the research work that is to run in three phases started last year. According to Dr Areke, the first phase of the research work started early last year and it ran throughout the year because cotton takes one year to grow up to harvest level.“We conducted the first season research work throughout the year and it was successful because the crop showed early indicators of pest-resistance and herbicide-tolerance. The Bt cotton has the ability to withstand bollworms and Ht cotton tolerates roundup chemicals sprayed to destroy weeds in the confined field trials at Serere and Mubuku. The crops grew vigorously and flowered without any disease, pest or weed infestations, but the research work has to go on for purposes of obtaining the required quality which when given out to farmers once the Biosafety law is in place will increase their farm productivity,” Dr Areke said.

Bt cotton variety research started at a confined stage with 20 kilogrammes of Bt cotton seeds which were shipped into the country from Monsanto, a US-based agro-dealer company. According to Dr Areke, the crop is environmentally friendly because it reduces the spread of chemicals. This GM cotton has been modified with bacteria whereby if a cotton bollworm touches it, it dies. The cotton bollworm is the biggest threat to cotton in Africa, the second threat being weeds. Scientists have been able to modify cotton with another gene that enables cotton to grow without weeding even when spread with herbicides.

This, according to the research team, will help farmers reduce on the cost of weeding, which is currently one of the biggest expenditures for farmers. Cotton needs to be weeded at least three times which usually discourages farmers from growing the crop. The researchers have been conducting the work since July 1, 2009 for purposes of assessing the ability of Monsanto’s genetically modified cotton varieties to test its tolerance against roundup herbicide and the weed control method under Uganda’s conditions. The main objective of the trial is to demonstrate the effectiveness of Monsanto’s GM Bollgard cotton varieties against the bollworm pest.

10 treatments made up of five cotton varieties and two bollworm control procedures were being studied in this trial and the result according to the scientists is so far good. Cotton growing according to recent statistical indicators shows it actually declined due to conflicts in the sector, pests and diseases, unstable international market prices and drought. However, since most of Uganda’s cotton is exported in its raw form, it currently contributes only 1.5 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However much as researchers are doing their job, a number of people are opposed to the genetically modified crops arguing that it could be dangerous to our environment and may overwhelm farmers who in turn could abandon traditionally grown crops.