What Is Bt Cotton?

Strains of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis produce over 200 different Bt toxins, each harmful to different insects. Most notably, Bt toxins are insecticidal to the larvae of moths and butterflies, beetles, cotton bollworms and ghtu flies but are harmless to other forms of life. The gene coding for Bt toxin has been inserted into cotton as a transgene, causing it to produce this natural insecticide in its tissues.
In many regions, the main pests in commercial cotton are lepidopteran larvae, which are killed by the Bt protein in the genetically modified cotton they eat.
Bt cotton is ineffective against many cotton pests such as plant bugs, stink bugs, and aphids; depending on circumstances it may be desirable to use insecticides in prevention.
Bt cotton was first approved for field trials in the United States in 1993, and first approved commercial use in the United States in 1995.
In 2011, India grew the largest GM cotton crop at 10.6 million hectares. The 95% of cotton grown in India was GM.  India is the largest producer of cotton, and GM cotton, as of 2014.

Advantages

Bt cotton has several advantages over non-Bt cotton. The important advantages of Bt cotton are briefly:
  • Increases yield of cotton due to effective control of three types of bollworms, viz. American, Spotted and Pink bollworms.
  • Insects belonged to Lepidoptera (Bollworms) are sensitive to crystalline endotoxic protein produced by Bt gene which in turn protects cotton from bollworms.
  • Reduction in insecticide use in the cultivation of Bt cotton in which bollworms are major pests.
  • Potential reduction in the cost of cultivation (depending on seed cost versus insecticide costs).
  • Reduction in es and predators which help in controlling the bollworms by feeding on larvae and eggs of bollworm.
  • No health hazards due to rare use of insecticides (particularly who is engaged in spraying of insecticides).

Disadvantages

Bt cotton has some limitations:
  • High cost of Bt cotton seeds as compared to non Bt cotton seeds.
  • Effectiveness up to 120 days, after that the toxin producing efficiency of the Bt gene drastically reduces.
  • Ineffective against sucking pests like jassids, aphids, whitefly etc.

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