The world’s first genetically modified (GM) rubber plant was planted on the outskirts of Guwahati, Assam, on Tuesday.
Developed at the Kerala-based Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII), the sapling was planted by Rubber Board chairman and executive director KN Raghavan at the board’s farm in Sarutari near Guwahati.
The GM rubber plant, the first of its kind developed exclusively for the northeast, is expected to thrive in the climatic conditions of the region.
The plant, which has additional copies of gene MnSOD (manganese containing superoxide dismutase) in it, is expected to revolutionise natural rubber production in India.
Raghavan said the plant is expected to tide over severe cold conditions during winters, a major factor affecting the growth of young plants as natural rubber is a native of warm humid Amazon forests and is not naturally suited for cold conditions in the northeast.
Commercial planting would be taken up later, depending on the results of the experiments conducted at the farm.