DNA lab for seeds set to score a first

Published on 7/27/2006
VV BALAKRISHNA

Hyderabad, July 26: The first State-owned DNA fingerprinting laboratory in the country for testing genetic purity of seeds is coming up here. The laboratory is all set to function from next month.

The ground work for the laboratory, set up at Samithi Training Centre of Agriculture Department at Malakpet, has been completed and it will start testing the quality of seeds soon.

In view of the numerous complaints being received about failure of paddy, chilli, groundnut and cotton seed, the main focus will be on whether the seed will reach the flowering stage within the stipulated time given by the companies and give yield as claimed by the producers.

So far the department has relied upon conventional testing method i.e. ‘grow out test’ (GOT), which is time-consuming and useful only for postmortem. But DNA fingerprinting will give results within two days to the farmer clarifying whether the seed is genetically pure or not. This saves the farmer monetary loss.

According to officials, inferior seed is one of the major factors that is pushing the farmers into debt-trap. However, there is no mechanism to find out how much money is being lost by farmers due to impure seeds.

GOT tests require land, water and time. The purity of seed will be known only after the seed develops into a plant. By the time the results are out, farmers could have sown the seed and incurred severe loss. In the DNA fingerprinting system, the farmer can decide instantly whether to use the seed or not.

The laboratory, costing Rs 3.5 crore, is technically supported by the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Research (NBPGR), Delhi. All the expenditure is borne by the State Government as it took the initiative to set up the lab on government lines.

Officials will conduct tests free of cost on the seed collected by agricultural officials or samples given by farmers. They will compare the seed characteristics with those collected by the officials from seed producers. ‘‘We have a database on all government-notified seed varieties.

Now, we are collecting the database on hybrid and Bt seeds developed by private companies,’’ agriculture officer Radha Madhav told Express. He said that they would be able to test 10,000 samples a year.

With the establishment of the DNA lab, the department would be in a position to initiate legal action against the erring seed-producing companies, he added.

One additional director and three agriculture officers are posted at the laboratory.

SEED LABS: Meanwhile, seed laboratories for conducting germination tests have been established in all the 19 districts this year.

Hitherto such laboratories have been existent only at Yemmiganuru, Tadepalligudem and Rajendranagar.

Members of CITU-affiliated building workers’ union staging a dharna at the Hyderabad collectorate on Wednesday, demanding a hike in wages and provision of work.Expressphoto