Study Finds Up to 30 Percent of Indian Cotton Area Under Illegal GM Hybrids
· Business · Indian Express, Hindustan Times
More than a quarter of the total cotton cultivation area in India comprises unauthorized genetically modified hybrids incorporating unapproved traits, according to a field-based study. Out of the 114.8 lakh hectares sown under cotton by farmers during the 2025-26 season, an estimated 26.2 to 29 lakh hectares utilized hybrids containing unauthorized herbicide-tolerant or Bacillus thuringiensis genes. The research was commissioned by the Federation of Seed Industry of India and the National Seed Association of India, based on 227 samples collected from 984 farmers across 16 hotspot districts in Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan. India officially permits farmers to grow only two approved pest-resistant genes isolated from the soil bacterium Bt, but the study shows widespread planting of unapproved seeds containing cp4-epsps and Vip3A genes. The cp4-epsps gene provides tolerance to glyphosate herbicide, which cannot normally be sprayed on standard cotton crops.
Why it matters
The widespread adoption of unapproved genetically modified seeds bypasses established regulatory and biosafety approval systems, presenting significant enforcement and compliance challenges for agricultural authorities in India.
Read the original report — Indian Express
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