LAHORE, Jan 4: The ministry of food, agriculture and livestock (Minfal) is planning to release the first home-grown Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) Cotton variety during next sowing season to maximise the production of cotton crop for domestic needs and export.

The insect-resistant BT cotton variety, IRFH-901, developed by National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad is all set to become the first home-grown variety for commercial cultivation in the country,” Commissioner Agriculture Development, Dr Qadir Bux Baloch said.

The share of BT cotton in total world cotton production has reached 30 per cent and is expected to touch 40 per cent mark by the year 2010.

He said besides encouraging the domestic production of BT Cotton seed by research institutes, the government was also in the process of talks with a world renowned biotechnology company to ensure the transfer of technology in this vital sector. He hoped that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was likely to be signed with this company shortly.

Dr. Baloch said that efforts were also on to completely eliminate the problem of cotton Curl Leaf virus (CLCV) from the country and hoped that a variety resistant to the virus would be developed soon. —APP