GM mustard hybrid Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11) yielded 28 percent more than the national check, and 37 percent more than the zonal check, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh told Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
In confined field trials (BRL-I and BRL-II) at multiple locations, Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11) was tested against national check Varuna and zonal check RL1359 for three years (2010-11, 2011-12, 2014-15). Sushil Modi asked Singh about DMH-11, which showed approximately 28% more yield than the national check and 37% more than zonal checks.
According to Sushil Modi, GM mustard has a higher yield per hectare than different high-yielding mustard varieties.
Sushil Modi asked Singh why GM Mustard wasn’t classified as a herbicide-tolerant crop variety despite its presence of the ‘bar’ gene. Singh said, “In hybrid seed production, the Bar gene is responsible for herbicide tolerance, and its use is approved and claimed by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) to ensure that hybrid seed is genetically pure by killing male fertile plants in female rows in seed production plots only, not during commercial cultivation.”
According to Singh, field trials were done to evaluate GM mustard’s impact on human health, the environment, the honey bee population, and the production of honey. Per the stipulated guidelines and rules, field trials have been conducted for three years (two years for BRL-II and one year for BRL-II) to assess the impact on human health and the environment.
Singh said, “Extensive research has shown that mustard (B juncea) lines Varuna bn 3.6, EH-2 modbs 2.99, and DMH-11 are safe to cultivate and for food and feed. This includes studies on toxicity (acute and subchronic), allergenicity, compositional analysis, field trials, and environmental safety. In the BRL-I and BRL-II trials conducted over three growing seasons at multiple locations per protocols approved by the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) and GEAC, bees visited transgenic lines the same way they visited non-transgenic ones.”
Singh replied to Sushil Modi’s question about GM cotton’s impact on honey production in the country, “No such evidence has been reported.”. However, studies conducted during 2018-19 and 2019-20 showed that Bt transgenic cotton cultivars don’t negatively affect bees, brood rearing, pollen and nectar hoarding in Apis mellifera colonies.”
