Bt Brinjal The scope and adequacy of the GEAC environmental risk assessment
Bt Brinjal: The scope and adequacy of the GEAC ... - Down To Earth
Bt Brinjal: The scope and adequacy of the GEAC ... - Down To Earth
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30 <strong>Bt</strong> <strong>Brinjal</strong>: <strong>The</strong> <strong>GEAC</strong> <strong>environmental</strong> <strong>risk</strong> <strong>assessment</strong>suffer greater damage than <strong>the</strong> less preferred host.Table 2. Host plants <strong>of</strong> BFSB, Leucinodes orbonalis, as reported inHowever, in real ecological conditions, all things are Waterhouse 1998never equal, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>re are many circumstances whereHost Plant SpeciesAuthoritya less preferred plant is damaged more than <strong>the</strong> moreSolanum violaceum OrtegaMenon 1962preferred one. Thus, <strong>the</strong> suitable host range <strong>of</strong> BFSBSolanum viarum Dunel Dhankhar et al. 1982provides <strong>the</strong> best basis for underst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>the</strong> effectsSolanum myriacanthum<strong>of</strong> gene flow on attack by BFSB. <strong>The</strong> suitable hostIsahaque <strong>and</strong> Chaudhuri 1983Dunal (shoots only)range <strong>of</strong> BFSB is quite broad (Table 2), <strong>and</strong> includesSolanum virginianum L.Menon 1962some plants not even remotely related to brinjal.Solanum nigrum L.Nair 1967; Das <strong>and</strong> Patnaik 1970;Thus, it must be concluded that <strong>the</strong> host range <strong>of</strong>Isahaque <strong>and</strong> Chaudhuri 1983BFSB is not well known.Fletcher 1916; Mehto et al. 1980;Solanum tuberosum L. (shoots only)Moreover, <strong>the</strong> known host range <strong>of</strong> BFSBIsahaque <strong>and</strong> Chaudhuri 1983includes two species with which brinjal can hybridise.Hargreaves 1937;SSolanum lycopersicum L.Das <strong>and</strong> Patnaik 1970<strong>The</strong>se are Solanum violaceum Ortega <strong>and</strong> SolanumCape gooseberryPillai 1922virginianum L. It is also likely that BFSB feedsGreen pea podsHussain 1925on wild populations <strong>of</strong> S. melongena, such as S.Mango shootsHutson 1930melongena var. insanum. All <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se taxa couldCucumber, sweet potato, capsicum Whittle <strong>and</strong> Ferguson 1987obtain a fitness benefit from <strong>the</strong> <strong>Bt</strong> transgene, yet<strong>the</strong>se possibilities are not considered by EEII, <strong>the</strong>Dossier, or <strong>the</strong> Supplemental Materials. Overall, <strong>the</strong> <strong>assessment</strong> <strong>of</strong> weediness is overly simplistic <strong>and</strong> ignores <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> publishedliterature related to <strong>the</strong> problem.<strong>The</strong> aggressiveness study cited in EC-II is insufficient to assess weediness. <strong>The</strong> negative results from <strong>the</strong> aggressiveness testare inconclusive (Dossier, vol. 5), because <strong>the</strong>re is no information about <strong>the</strong> level <strong>of</strong> seed deposition. It is not possible to knowif <strong>the</strong> negative results are due to <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> aggressiveness <strong>of</strong> brinjal or because <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> seed deposition.Moreover, <strong>the</strong> results do not address <strong>the</strong> more serious potential aggressiveness associated with wild or feral populations <strong>of</strong>S. melongena, such as S. melongena var. insanum. Because brinjal can form wild populations, <strong>the</strong> results from <strong>the</strong> aggressivenessstudy focusing only on cultivars may be misleading.<strong>The</strong>re is no effort to determine if <strong>the</strong> genetic diversity <strong>of</strong> any <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> wild relatives could be adversely affected. Hybridisationwith S. incanum occurs at significant enough rates that <strong>the</strong> threat to its genetic diversity should be considered. Effects on geneticdiversity <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> recipient population are likely only when introgression is very high (Haygood et al. 2002, Ellstr<strong>and</strong> 2003).Thus, <strong>the</strong>re is an a priori expectation that loss <strong>of</strong> genetic diversity is unlikely. However, empirical data coupled to a <strong>the</strong>oreticalunderst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> problem are needed to provide assurance that <strong>the</strong> a priori expectations hold in this case.<strong>The</strong>re is also no effort to determine if <strong>Bt</strong> brinjal will contaminate non-GM brinjal, <strong>the</strong>reby affecting <strong>the</strong> quality <strong>of</strong> non-GMbrinjal. Several kinds <strong>of</strong> impacts need to be considered:• Organic brinjal production. Will contamination result in loss <strong>of</strong> organic status, classification or price?• Export brinjal. Will contamination affect <strong>the</strong> export dem<strong>and</strong> for Indian brinjal?• Non-GM brinjal. Will <strong>the</strong> market for brinjal in India segment <strong>and</strong> will contamination affect <strong>the</strong> price <strong>of</strong> non-GM brinjal?Religiously significant brinjal. Will contamination compromise <strong>the</strong> sacredness <strong>of</strong> brinjal varieties with religious significance,such as udipigulla?• Culturally significant brinjal. Will contamination compromise <strong>the</strong> cultural value <strong>of</strong> brinjal, such as <strong>the</strong> brinjal used inwedding ceremonies?Needed Experiments <strong>and</strong> ObservationsField studies should be carried out to evaluate <strong>the</strong> <strong>risk</strong>s <strong>of</strong> weediness <strong>and</strong> loss <strong>of</strong> genetic diversity (numbering is continued