Are there no alternatives to Bt Brinjal?

As everyone has told about advantages and disadvantages of bt brinjal,i thought of discussing some alternative measures to bt brinjal.

The BT brinjal field trials have been compared with their non-bt counterparts and some national checks to understand the benefits that might potentially accrue to the farmers.They have not been compared to other safer,inexpensive alternatives,however.

There is a lot of experience in mechanical control as well as non-chemical IPM(Integrated Pest Management) strategies within the Indian research system.Further,there is much experience of non-chemical brinjal cultivation in farmers' fields by many practicing organic and NPM (Non pesticidal management)farmers in the country.Simple things like pheromone traps for mass trapping,sanitation of the field[timely removal and destruction of affected shoots and fruits ],mechanical barriers,use of some local plant extracts for pest control etc,have all worked well for farmers.However,the evaluation of Bt brinjal is not taking place against such options as part of the risk assessment .

Mahyco-commissioned multilocational trials in their second year[2005-2006] for five hybrids and in their first year for 3 other hybrids, compared with their non-bt counterparts and with some popular checks.Friut damage in case of bt brinjal(mean of Mahyco hybrids from 8 locations-2005-2006) was reported as 13.5% and incase of non -bt counterparts (mean of non-bt counterpart hybrids from 8 locations) was reported as 28.7%.It(bt-brinjal) may have good yield, but if it affects the health of the public,we should go for some other alternatives.

As practicing NPM and organic farmers from various parts of the country would testify,pest management in brinjal does not need either pesticides or GM seeds when safer,cheaper alternatives in the control of farmers are available.

What is needed is a public support system for such alternatives to be promoted, spread and practiced.Such alternatives inevitably show that the farmers benefit out of increased net incomes, derived from internalizing various inputs including seed.