Iran to Produce Bt Cotton
June 17, 2015| |
The first sample of Iranian Bt cotton was revealed during the opening ceremony of the 9th National and 1st International Biotechnology Congress of Iran organized by the Biotechnology Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Bt cotton plant was unveiled by the Minister of Agriculture, Mahmoud Hojjati, Head of the Congress and Chief of Biotech Development Staff, Dr. Mostafa Ghanei, in the presence of the World Food Prize Laureate, Dr. Marc Van Montagu, and over 1,000 participants.
Dr. Seyyed Elyas Mortazavi, the representative of Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII) said that the Bt cotton project was initiated in Iran in1999. "Bt cotton yields up to 6 tons per hectare, which is at least 30 percent more than non-GM varieties," he added.
The Bt cotton cultivar is semi-drought tolerant and resistant to viral diseases. Its potential introduction comes at a time that President Hassan Rouhani has assumed the presidential office. Bt cotton is expected to be approved for planting soon.
For more information, contact Dr. Behzad Ghareyazie at ghareyazie@yahoo.com.
| |
Biotech Updates is a weekly newsletter of ISAAA, a not-for-profit organization. It is distributed for free to over 22,000 subscribers worldwide to inform them about the key developments in biosciences, especially in biotechnology. Your support will help us in our mission to feed the world with knowledge. You can help by donating as little as $10.
-
See more articles:
-
News from Around the World
- Report Forecasts Global Seed Market Trends to 2020
- Biotech Expert Calls for Stronger Links for Regulation of GM Products
- Next Harvest II Report Launched in Kenya
- Researchers Discover Microbe Mobilizing 'Iron Shield' Blocking Arsenic Uptake in Rice
- A New Approach in Managing GMO Spread
- A Grass Could Replace Arabidopsis as Model Plant
- Iran to Produce Bt Cotton
- APEC Member Economies Acknowledge Importance of SciCom in Decision-Making Process
- Scientists Close the Gap on Yellow Rust
-
Research Highlights
- Rice Gene OsGRAS23 Confers Drought Stress Response
- Sl3-MMP from Tomato Regulates Defense Responses against Pathogens
-
Beyond Crop Biotech
- Tiny Genome Sequencer Device Completes E. coli Genome
-
Announcements
- Breeding Science Symposium in Korea
- RNAi Product Safety Assessment Workshop
-
Resources
- Quotable Quotes: Why Biotech?
- Award-Winning Book "Seeds for Change: The Lives and Work of Suri and Edda Sehgal"
-
Read the latest: - Biotech Updates (April 24, 2024)
- Gene Editing Supplement (April 24, 2024)
- Gene Drive Supplement (February 22, 2023)
-
Subscribe to BU: - Share
- Tweet