Pest-resistant aubergine in the offing

But developing transgenic aubergines, resistant to fruit and shoot borers, has rekindled hopes among farmers that they will no longer require pesticides.

This means consumers may soon expect fresh vegetables on their dish free from pesticides residues.

By the end of next year, aubergine farmers in Bangladesh, India and the Philippines will be able to harvest more crops and scrap pesticides by adopting genetically engineered varieties that resist voracious pests and fruit and shoot borers.

This will be the outcome of a public-private partnership undertaken by Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and run with the help of a consortium led by Cornell University.

The project is being implemented in Bangladesh, India and the Philippines.

Officials of Sathguru Management Consultants and others involved in the project discussed the latest agro-biotechnological developments at a two-day international journalists meet held in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India in mid-November.

The scientists said small green larvae of fruits and shoot borers that eat their way into the plants cause widespread damage as the shoots wither and the fruits rot inside.

The damage starts at the nursery stage and continues until the time of harvest, the scientists said.

To combat the pests, biotechnologists have genetically engineered aubergines to produce 'bacillus thuringiensis' (Bt) protein of their own that is toxic to pests but not to humans or animals.

Vjay Raghavan, ABSP regional coordinator, expressed the hope the techniques of biotechnology may safely be applied in aubergines.

The finally released seeds will be available for commercial use to both rich and poor farmers, he said. The partners of the public sector in each country will look after the distribution methods of the seeds.

Now India is conducting the field trial of the transgenic aubergines. It was seen in the field that the transgenic vegetables were fruit and shoot borer free.

"Nobody tastes the aubergines yet as the Indian government has not okayed consumption of these vegetables. Now we harvest it and dump it in the ground," said Usha Barwale Zehr, joint director (Research), Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company (MAHYCO).

Zehr said they are developing transgenic aubergine seeds for the farmers of India, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

For Bangladesh the MAHYCO researchers are developing transgenic seeds of 19 Bangladeshi varieties.

Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (Bari) has provided nine local varieties, while East West Seed Company, a private partner from Bangladesh, has provided 10 hybrid types.

Sources in the ABSP Bangladesh chapter said Bari will look after and examine the Bangladeshi varieties of the seeds at the 'Contained Green House' after getting those from the MAHYCO.

After that, the Bari will seek the government permission for field trial. On completion of the trial, the aubergines will go to the farmers for commercial cultivation.

"By the next year, Bari will get the seeds and by the end of 2007 the vegetables will go to the fields for trial cultivation," said Dr GP Das, country director of ABSP Bangladesh chapter.