Minister for Agriculture Punjab Malik Ahmad Ali congratulated the scientists of Centre for Excellence Molecular Biology (CEMB), Punjab University for developing miracle CLCV resistant cotton plant. Minister for Agriculture Punjab, Chief Executive PARB Dr Mubarak Ali, Director Agricultural Information M. Rafiq Akhtar and other officials of Agriculture Department visited CEMB of Punjab University, says a department spokesman here on Friday.
Cotton Leaf Curl Virus damages cotton production every year. The damage to cotton production due to CLCV is estimated 3 million bales worth of approximately Rs 250-300 billion every year. The Punjab Agricultural Research Board (PARB) started a project in collaboration with CEMB and Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IAS) in Punjab University in 2009 to develop GMO that can effectively resist the virus growth in cotton plant with a cost of Rs 29 million.