Bangladesh joins the global GMO club, introduces Bt
brinjal (eggplant)
January 23, 2014 | Daily Star
Bangladesh became the 30th country to cultivate a
genetically motivated crop with the introduction this week
of Bt brinjal–eggplant modified to express Bacillus
thuringiensis, a natural pesticide. As part of the
initiatives, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute
(BARI) distributed saplings of the new crop among 20
farmers in four regions.
With the introduction of Bt brinjal, farmers do not need
to spray many pesticides because the plant produces a
naturally occurring bacterium common in soils throughout
the world and can infect and kill insects. This “microbial
insecticide” is widely used in organic farming.
Farmers in Bangladesh have had to spray synthetic
pesticides up to 80 times in a cropping season of brinjal,
making the vegetable highly toxic. Unlike typical nerve-
poison synthetic insecticides, Bt acts by producing
proteins (delta-endotoxin, the “toxic crystal”) that
reacts with the cells of the gut lining of susceptible
insects. These Bt proteins paralyze the digestive system,
and the infected insect stops feeding within hours. Bt-
affected insects generally die from starvation, which can
take several days. It has no effect on humans and
wildlife.
It took seven years to complete greenhouse trials and
open-field trials of Bt Brinjal in various agro-ecological
zones in the country. Bt gene insertion in brinjal makes
it resistant to fruit and shoot borer (FSB) that causes 50
to 70 percent loss of brinjal yield.
http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/01/23/benglades
h-joins-the-global-gmo-club-introduces-bt-brinjal-
eggplant/
brinjal (eggplant)
January 23, 2014 | Daily Star
Bangladesh became the 30th country to cultivate a
genetically motivated crop with the introduction this week
of Bt brinjal–eggplant modified to express Bacillus
thuringiensis, a natural pesticide. As part of the
initiatives, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute
(BARI) distributed saplings of the new crop among 20
farmers in four regions.
With the introduction of Bt brinjal, farmers do not need
to spray many pesticides because the plant produces a
naturally occurring bacterium common in soils throughout
the world and can infect and kill insects. This “microbial
insecticide” is widely used in organic farming.
Farmers in Bangladesh have had to spray synthetic
pesticides up to 80 times in a cropping season of brinjal,
making the vegetable highly toxic. Unlike typical nerve-
poison synthetic insecticides, Bt acts by producing
proteins (delta-endotoxin, the “toxic crystal”) that
reacts with the cells of the gut lining of susceptible
insects. These Bt proteins paralyze the digestive system,
and the infected insect stops feeding within hours. Bt-
affected insects generally die from starvation, which can
take several days. It has no effect on humans and
wildlife.
It took seven years to complete greenhouse trials and
open-field trials of Bt Brinjal in various agro-ecological
zones in the country. Bt gene insertion in brinjal makes
it resistant to fruit and shoot borer (FSB) that causes 50
to 70 percent loss of brinjal yield.
http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/01/23/benglades
h-joins-the-global-gmo-club-introduces-bt-brinjal-
eggplant/