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Showing 1 of 2 articles, those that changed from 1 to 30 June 2026.Show all

Herbicide tolerant mustard hybrids

Prelims and Mains

Herbicide tolerant mustard hybrids carry a single DNA change, made by mutation breeding and not genetic modification, that lets them survive imidazolinone herbicides.

Imidazolinone herbicides kill plants by inhibiting acetolactate synthase, an enzyme essential for growth; the hybrids' change makes the enzyme resistant.
The parasitic weed Orobanche attaches to mustard roots and drains water and nutrients, beyond the reach of hand weeding.
The tolerant crop can be sprayed, so the herbicide reaches the parasite in the soil.
India imported about 16 million tonnes of edible oil in 2024 to 2025, and mustard is its main oilseed in the arid north.

Why the hybrid survives the spray

Spray
The imidazolinone herbicide inhibits acetolactate synthase, an enzyme essential for growth
Weed and parasite die
Weeds and Orobanche in the soil lose the enzyme's work and die
Hybrid unaffected
The hybrid's single DNA change makes its enzyme resistant
Crop survives
The mustard grows on in a field cleared of the parasite

One change in one enzyme lets the crop survive a herbicide that kills the parasite, which is also why leaning on that one herbicide invites resistant weeds.Source: The Hindu, 8 June 2026

What changed

8 Jun 2026New
- Wide scale cultivation of imidazolinone resistant mustard hybrids begins in the 2026 to 2027 rabi season to counter Orobanche.
- Relying on one herbicide will select for resistant weeds.
Mains: The technology stays viable only inside diverse weed control: crop rotation, herbicides with different modes of action and continued manual weeding.
The Hindu, 8 Jun 2026: New herbicide-tolerant mustard hybrids need diverse farming plans (opens in a new tab)

Also filed elsewhere

Radiation in agriculture: mutation breeding and food irradiation · on Fusion, radiation applications and nuclear governance
Mutation breeding exposes seeds to radiation to create changes within the crop's own genome, and the breeder then selects the plants worth keeping.