ICAR-SBI to Commercialize New Gene Targeting Pink Bollworm in Cotton by 2030
By jayesh chouhan 2026-07-17 13:02:48
ICAR-SBI Prepares to Commercialize New Gene Targeting Pink Bollworm
The Coimbatore-based ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute (ICAR-SBI) has taken a significant step towards commercializing a newly discovered crystal toxin gene that is effective against the pink bollworm. The institute is working on a plan to develop transgenic cotton hybrids and make commercial seeds available to farmers by 2030 under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The pink bollworm has emerged as one of the biggest challenges for Bollgard II cotton cultivation in India. To address this and to boost cotton production while halting the decline in cultivation acreage, scientists at ICAR-SBI have successfully isolated a new crystal toxin gene from *Bacillus thuringiensis* after more than 15 years of research.
Institute Director P. Govindaraj stated that one of the newly discovered genes has proven effective even against pink bollworm populations that have developed resistance to the Bollgard II technology. He noted that this discovery could play a crucial role in developing more sustainable and pest-resistant cotton varieties in the future.
B. Singaravelu, a principal scientist at the institute, said that a partnership with the private sector would be established to advance this high-value technology and rapidly bring the research findings to farmers.
In this regard, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was exchanged between ICAR-SBI and Rasi Seeds in New Delhi in the presence of Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Rural Development. The partnership aims to develop transgenic cotton hybrids based on this new technology and make them available on a commercial scale.
