Punjab Seed Council (PSC) has approved eight Bt Cotton varieties and one hybrid variety for cultivation in Punjab whereas two Bt varieties have been deferred. The approval was given at the 39th meeting of Punjab Seed Council, which was held here Wednesday with Provincial Agriculture Minister Malik Ahmad Ali Aulakh in the chair, said a press release issued here Thursday.
Proposals of 11 varieties of BT cotton/hybrid evolved by research institutions of the government and private sector were presented in the meeting. While discussing and considering approval, the breeders presented the case of their varieties for approval by highlighting trial results and performance of the candidate varieties and their characteristic.
After discussing at length and keeping in view the data presented for candidate varieties IR-3701 evolved by Nuclear Institute for Bio-Technology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE) Faisalabad, Ali Akbar 703 developed by M/s Ali Akbar Seeds Multan, MG-6 and Sitara-008 developed by M/s Nawab Gurmani Foundation, Kot Addu and M/s Agri. Farm Services Multan respectively were approved for cultivation.
Whereas BT varieties including IR-1524 developed by NIBGE, Faisalabad, FH-113 of Cotton Research Institute, AARI, Faisalabad, Ali Akbar-802 of M/s. Ali Akbar Seeds, Multan and Neelam-121 developed by M/s. Neelam Seeds, Multan were approved for one year for field performance/monitoring of the varieties. One Hybrid variety GM-2085 developed by M/s. Guard Agricultural Research Services, Raiwind Road, Lahore was also approved. Two candidate Bt cotton varieties including CEMB-01 and CEMB-02 developed by Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology, University of Punjab, Lahore were deferred by Punjab Seed Council.-PR