Telangana Agri varsity unveils its first Bt cotton seed variety

Professor Jayashankar Telangana Agricultural University has released its first Bt cotton variety, WGCV Bt-28, offering farmers a cheaper, resowable option with improved yield and pest resistance. The move is expected to reduce seed costs and challenge the dominance of private companies in the Bt cotton sector.

Hyderabad: Telangana farmers can now get cheaper cotton seeds, which can be resown, with improved cotton quality, as the Professor Jayashankar Telangana Agricultural University (PJTAU) has unveiled its first Bt cotton variety – “WGCV Bt-28″. So far, the Bt cotton variety seeds have been developed and sold by private companies.

The new high yielding Bt cotton variety is suitable for irrigated conditions of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It matures in 160-170 days.

---

One of the unique features of the new seed is its resistance to sucking pests, good boll characteristics and improved cotton quality. The variety has been recorded with an average cotton yield of 23-25 quintals per hectare in research fields.

Announcing the new cotton seed variety on Saturday, PJTAU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Aldas Janaiah said the new variety developed by the university could mitigate the dominance of private companies in the Bt cotton seed sector, which has existed since the last 20 years.

The cultivation of this seed variety would reduce the cost of seed by about Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 5,000 per acre. In addition, farmers would have the opportunity to re-sow their own seeds, he explained.

The State Level Crop Varieties Release Committee has also approved release of another 11 new crop varieties developed by Professor Jayashankar Telangana Agricultural University. Among these, six high-yielding and pest-resistant varieties of rice, one each of maize, soybean, sorghum, millet and millet have officially been recommended for release for cultivation at the State level.