RICE farmers will soon be buying cheap hybrid seeds produced by genetically modified plants if an Indian biotech company has its way. It has patented its own way of producing new hybrid varieties, and is betting its products will not meet the same opposition as GM crops produced by multinationals like Monsanto.
Hybrid crops, produced by crossing different varieties, are widely used in agriculture as they are usually more vigorous and produce higher yields. To create hybrids, plant breeders must prevent the parent plants from pollinating themselves. Doing this by hand is labour-intensive and costly, so breeders prefer to use…
