Bt-by-Bt assessment
On November 10, 2002, people wearing 'Bollgard' caps visited cotton farmer R Narsimha Reddy at his home in Aleru, a village in Nalgonda, Andhra …
‘Stopping GM trials is anti-farmer’
Genetically modified (GM) mustard hybrid DMH-11 developed by Delhi University’s Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants ran into …
Scientists, activists are locked in
Deepak Pental, former vice-chancellor of Delhi University and currently director of the university’s Centre for Genetic Manipulation of …
Organic thread
Even as Bt cotton invaded Indian fields in the past few years, some farmer groups kept pushing for organic cotton. In 2009-10, production in …
Manipulating Research
Private funding has given a new meaning to scientific research today. With rising corporate research budgets, academic institutions are leaning …
Long yarn
The cotton story is a tangled tale. In many parts of India, farmers are committing suicide. It's been a while Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and now …
Chhattisgarh will not allow GM crops
Chandrasekhar Sahu, agriculture minister of Chhattisgarh, is passionate about making farming a viable proposition for farmers. He has written …
GEAC has power only to withdraw permission
Arjula R Reddy, a plant geneticist, was appointed co-chairperson of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) in 2009. At present, he …
Who is watching GM crops?
As India gets ready to unleash a vast number of genetically modified (GM) food crops, politicians have joined activists in opposing engineered …
Dealing with crop stresses and scandals
Subbanna Ayyappan has made history in the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (IACR) by becoming the first non-crop scientist to head this …
How power shaped the ‘success story’ of genetically modified cotton in Burkina Faso
Many GM crops in Africa are not the domain of big agri-business companies. This doesn’t mean vested interests won’t still shape …
Spinning industry seeks government help
Industry association recently published advertisements in newspapers, seeking govt attention
Improving water security in Maharashtra’s cotton-growing villages
Cotton is an important fibre crop in Maharashtra, with more than four million farmers engaged in cotton farming
Cotton imposters
Companies like Welspun India may be passing off ordinary cotton fabrics as Egyptian cotton ones and there is no foolproof method yet of detecting …
Genocide of farmers
Film >> Cotton for my shroud • by Nandan Saxena and Kavita Bahl • Produced by Top Quark Films • 81.30 min HDV Documentary 2011
Buttermilk-based bioformulation helps in cotton disease control
Tamil Nadu Agricultural University researchers found that a plant growth promoting rhizo bacteria can be used to fight Tobacco Streak Virus in cotton
Cotton-eating monsters lay low the farmers
Cotton farmers in northwest India were taken by surprise when, despite a pesticide blitzkrieg, the American bollworm devastated half their crops. …
Revoked!
The cancellation of a US firm's rights on a method to genetically engineer cotton has brought weaknesses in India's patent system into focus
Neem "green"
The menace of pesticide-resistant varieties can be effectively managed with the help of neem-based pesticides
Committee confirms use of illegal cotton seeds
Last year, herbicide tolerant cotton was blamed for the deaths of farmers due to inhalation in Vidharbha region
Organic cotton is catching on
Health concerns have led to increasing production of organically grown cotton, which uses less pesticide
Heavy cotton
Following suicides by cotton farmers in various parts of the country, the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Delhi, the National …
A Frayed History: The Journey of Cotton in India
A comprehensive study of cotton farming, this book explores the loss of local varieties of cotton and cotton-weaving traditions.
Revoking Monsanto's GM cotton patent is of little help to farmers let down by the technology
Designed to resist the bollworm pest, Monsanto's Bollgard II is seen as useless as the pink bollworm ravages cotton fields across the country
Cotton saga unravels
Flat yields for five years and rising insecticide use are jeopardising the success of Bt cotton technology