Bt Cotton Affects Soil Nutrient Availability, India Study Says
September 19, 2008| |
A study at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi suggests that transgenic Bt cotton may constrain the availability of nitrogen, but enhance phosphorus-availability in some soil types in India. The commercialized Bt and non-Bt cotton cultivars MRC-6301Bt and MRC-6301 developed by Mahyco Research were used in the study by B. Sarkar and other researchers at the IARI .
The group determined that root biomass was not significantly different between the Bt and non-Bt cultivars during their growth. Root volume was also determined to be similar between cultivars at 60 days after sowing, but become significantly different after 60 and 90 days. The group hypothesize that the higher nutrient depletion is a consequence of an increased root volume of Bt-cotton which subsequently affected the chemical composition of root or microbial properties in the rhizosphere.They recommend further studies to investigate enzyme activities and the availability of nitrogen and phosphorus in Indian soils under Bt cotton.
The full paper is available to subscribers of the J. Agronomy & Crop Science at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-037X.2008.00312.x
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