GM Potato + Interview with CIP DG + Clean Coal Tech & Carbon Capture Storage

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NEWS Bulletin from Indian Society For Sustainable Agriculture And Rural Development

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1. Tough, nutritious GM potatoes from Shimla institute to hit platter

 

2. Interview with CIP DG, Pamela K Anderson --‘Need to adapt Korean aeroponic potato seed multiplication tech’

 

3. CLIMATE CHANGE & CLEAN TECH : Clean coal tech for the future -- Another eco-friendly way is that of carbon capture and storage

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Tough, nutritious GM potatoes from Shimla institute to hit platter

 

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/tough-nutritious-gm-potatoes-from-shimla-institute-to-hit-platter/398927/0 ASHOK B SHARMAPosted: 2008-12-16 19:03:16+05:30 ISTUpdated: Dec 16, 2008 at 1903 hrs IST

 

New Delhi, Dec 15 : Genetically-modified (GM) potatoes are likely to be on your plates soon. The Shimla-based Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI) has developed GM potato varieties with the Ama1 gene acclaimed for improved nutritional efficiency, that with RB gene for late blight resistance, and along with the Bt potato for insect resistance. The institute has also developed transgenic potatoes for reduction of cold-induced sweetening.

 

“All these GM potato varieties are in advanced stages and ready for limited field trials under the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM),†said CPRI director SK Pandey.

 

India has joined Global Potato Genome Sequencing Project which was initiated in mid-2006 and coordinated by Netherland-based Waggeningen University.

 

Ama1, a storage albumin protein gene sourced from amaranthus hypochondriacus by the Delhi University at its south Delhi campus, has been used by CPRI to develop a GM potato variety in collaboration with Delhi-based National Institute for Plant Genome Research. CPRI has claimed that the protein content in this GM potato variety has increased by 40%.

 

For late blight resistance, the RB gene cloned from S bulbocastanum by the University of Wisconsin, has been used by CPRI under the collaborative Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project-II for developing promising genotypes by genetic transformation and by crossing with RB-transgenic Katahdn lines.

 

CPRI, along with the National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology had developed transgenic lines of four potato cultivars encoding the synthetic cry1 Ab gene of bacillus thuringgiensis (Bt).

 

According to CPRI’s SK Chakrabarti, though reduction in leaf mining was observed in GM varieties Kufri Badshah and Kufri Lauvkar, they failed to show any appreciable gain of resistance. In the meantime, cry9 Aa2 proved to be the most effective Bt toxin for the potato tuber moth (PTM). A plastid transformation vector encoding cry9 Aa2 gene was designed and transplastomic tobacco lines expressing this gene showed high levels of resistance to PTM.

 

Four selected transgenic lines of Kufri Chipsona-1 expressing Ni-Inhh gene have been developed by CPRI for reducing cold-induced sweetening in storage. The reduction of cold-induced sweetening has been attempted by inhibiting the activity of potato vacuolar invertase through over-expression of tobacco invertase inhibitor, Ni-Inhh, under the control of constitutive promoter, CaMV 35S.

 

This process was earlier attempted with the popular potato variety, Kufri Badshah, but with not much success.

 

Kufri Chipsona-1 has been made an industrial product for processing. This variety has been subjected to another genetic modification by RNAi-mediated post-transcriptional silencing of the vacuolar acid invertase gene (INV) through introduction of introns containing inverted repeat gene construct (iIR-INV).

 

CPRI has developed the GM variety, Kufri Badshah, with resistance to apical leaf curl virus. The replication-associated protein gene, ACI of the virus was used to obtain pathogen-derived resistance. GM Kufri Sutlej and Kufri Pukhraj were been developed by inserting glgC gene of Eschlricha coli for increasing starch content. To produce dwarf plants, the GA20 oxidase gene has been inserted in Kufri Surya and Kufri Himalini.

 

The Institute of Himalayan Bioresorce Technology under the CSIR system has developed GM Kufri Giriraj by inserting a thaumatin-like protein (TLP) gene from Camellia sinensis for developing resistance to drought. It has also inserted cytosolic Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase gene from Potentilla astrosanguinea with the promoter CaMV 35S in Kufri Sutlej for making it resistant to drought and salinity. ------------------------------

 

‘Need to adapt Korean aeroponic potato seed multiplication tech’ http://www.financialexpress.com/news/need-to-adapt-korean-aeroponic-potato-seed-multiplication-tech/398373/0

 

Posted: 2008-12-15 21:33:38+05:30 ISTUpdated: Dec 15, 2008 at 2133 hrs IST

 

Potato, a tuber crop, has emerged as a major non-cereal staple food across the world. It is commonly known as poor man's crop and can cater to the needs of food and nutritional security and lift millions out of poverty, hunger and malnutrition. It can aid in the growth of the economy and employment by giving birth to many processing industries.

 

Farmers, the pivot of the entire chain, can gain if the marketing structures ensure them with more profitable prices. The Peru-based International Potato Center-CIP-which is one of the 15 affiliated institutions of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), has drawn up a medium-term plan (2009-11) for achieving these goals.

 

According to the CIP director general, Pamela K Anderson there is a marked shift in global potato production and developing countries are producing more potato. India and China account for 20% potato production and can produce more. In an exclusive interview with Ashok B Sharma of FE, she outlined the needs and strategies for boosting potato production. Excerpts

 

Why should potato be promoted? What are its food and nutritional values?

 

A potato is a crop grown and consumed widely by the poor man across the globe. Potato, a native of Andes in Peru and subsequently grown as a temperate and hill crop, is now grown also in the sub-tropical plains.

 

In 2005, developing countries share of global potato production increased to 52%, with China and India together contributing about 20%. Potato contains about 77 gm water and 87 gm energy.

 

In the water content it has riboflavin 0.02 mg, thiamin 0.106 mg, niacin 1.44 mg, iron 0.31 mg, phosphorus 44 mg, potassium 379 mg. In the energy content it has vitamin C 13 mg, protein 1.87 g, fat 0.1 g, fibre 1.8 g, carbohydrate 20.13 g, calcium 5 mg. Thus, potato cannot only provide food security but also nutritional security. It can fulfill the objectives of UN Millennium Development Goals .

 

What can India do to promote potato as a food crop?

 

India produces about 25 million tonne (mt) potato in 1.25 million hectare area and in 2008-09 the production is slated to peak up to 29.51 mt. India can further increase its production if potato is taken up for inter-cropping along with wheat, rice, maize and sugarcane at places having a conducive temperature. India also needs to develop suitable technologies for fighting against bacterial wilt, virus and late blight and use clean seeds.

 

In what way can CIP help India?

 

Studies have shown six tonne of potato per hectare can be saved from losses if late blight is resisted. Two tonne per hectare can be saved if attacks of virus are resisted and 0.6 tonne per hectare can be saved from losses if bacterial wilt is prevented.

 

Use of clean seeds results in an increase of 5.1 tonne per hectare. Seed multiplication is important and we in CIP have adapted the low cost Korean aeroponic system of seed multiplication, which increases the clean seed multiplication rate from 5.1 to 50.1.

 

These seeds have lesser use of water. We need to assess consumer demand and advise farmers, so that there would be no glut and for this we have launched projects like Papa Andia and Cuzco Challenge. ---------

 

Clean coal tech for the future

 

Another eco-friendly way is that of carbon capture and storage

 

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/clean-coal-tech-for-the-future/398760/0 ASHOK B SHARMAPosted: 2008-12-16 19:11:00+05:30 ISTUpdated: Dec 16, 2008 at 1911 hrs IST

 

Coal is a vital fuel in most parts of the world. Burning coal without adding to global carbon dioxide levels is a major technological challenge. The most promising ‘clean coal’ technology involves using the coal to make hydrogen from water, then burying the resultant carbon dioxide by-product and burning the hydrogen. The greatest challenge is bringing down the cost of this technology for ‘clean coal’ to compete with nuclear power on the basis of near-zero emissions for base-load power.

 

The clean coal technology is moving very rapidly in the direction of coal gasification with a second stage so as to produce a concentrated and pressurised carbon dioxide stream followed by its separation and geological storage. This technology has the potential to provide what may be called ‘zero emissions’—in reality, extremely low emissions of the conventional coal pollutants, and as low-as-engineered carbon dioxide emissions.

 

The US sees ‘zero emissions’ coal technology as a core element of its future energy supply in a carbon-constrained world. It had an ambitious programme to develop and demonstrate the technology and have commercial designs for plants with an electricity cost of only 10% greater than conventional coal plants available by 2012, but with the cancellation of FutureGen, this is in doubt.

 

Australia is very well-endowed with carbon dioxide storage sites near major carbon dioxide generation sources, but as elsewhere, demonstration plants will be needed to gain public acceptance and show that the storage is permanent. In several countries, ‘zero emissions’ technology seems to have the potential for low avoided cost for greenhouse gas emissions.

 

Another useful technology is that of carbon capture and storage (CCS). There are a range of technologies at different stages of research & development for proven safe and economical capture, transport, and storage of carbon dioxide to reduce its concentration in the atmosphere. There are three generic process routes for capturing carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion plant—pre-combustion capture, post-combustion capture and oxyfuel combustion.

 

Pre-combustion capture involves reacting fuel with oxygen or air and in some cases, steam to produce a gas consisting mainly of carbon monoxide, which is then reacted with steam in a catalytic shift converter to produce more hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is separated and the hydrogen is used as fuel in a gas turbine combined cycle plant. Post-combustion capture involves separation of carbon dioxide from flue gas. Oxyfuel combustion involves burning fuel in an oxygen/carbon dioxide mixture rather than air to produce a carbon dioxide rich flue gas.

 

Out of India’s annual 1.2 gigatonne of carbon dioxide emissions, the power sector is responsible for over half. Therefore, there is a need to switch over to the use of clean coal technologies. India has also urged the UNFCC that the developed countries speed up clean technology transfer to developing countries and raise the needed fund to the level of over $80 billion.

 

The clean coal technologies would help bring down emissions in India and thus help ease global concerns as India’s primary energy demand is likely to increase four-fold if the country has to attain and sustain high growth and meet the needs of the growing population. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has estimated that India’s primary energy demand will multiply three to four times, and agreeing on this projection, the Planning Commission has estimated that the country’s primary energy need will increase from 542 tonne of oil equivalent in 2006 to 842 million tonne oil equivalent in 2016 and finally to 1836 million tonne oil equivalent in 2031. This would push India from the rank of the fourth largest energy consumer in the world today to the third largest by 2030, after China and the US.

 

Greenhouse gas induced global climate change is primarily due to excessive energy use. However, India has a low national average per capita carbon dioxide emission of 1.67 tonne significantly below US's 23 tonne and Europe's 11 tonne. The Rio Declaration has accepted the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" of developed countries vis-à-vis developing countries in combating climate change.

 

Developing countries and economies in transition like India has the right to develop and meet the needs of its people. India has urged in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) for fixing global emission target on basis of per capita emission.

 

There are projections that India with a 1.13 billion people today may become the most populous nation by 2030. Energy demand would, therefore likely to increase if the country has to attain and sustain a double-digit growth rate in the economy. In this context, IEA's projection of three to four times increase in India's primary energy demand looks realistic. India has already committed itself to combating climate change at home and has initiated a series of measures. As coal is a major source of energy, the use of clean coal technology seems appropriate. --------

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