ABSTRACT
The emergence of Genetically-Modified (GM) technology may be considered an important landmark in the history of agriculture development in the world. It has even been hyped as the second green (gene) revolution for most of the developed and developing countries. On a global scale, the GM cropped area was estimated at 100 million hectares which accounts for about 5 per cent of the global cropped area during 2006. Among the various GM crops, four, viz., soyabean, cotton, maize and canola together account for 30 per cent of the GM cropped area. Among the four crops, cotton is important for many developing countries as: (i) a cash crop supplementing the livelihoods of millions of farmers, including the small and marginal; and (ii) as a strategic raw-material for the textile industry (James 2007).
