Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Co. (Mahyco) is an agricultural company based in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and a major producer of seeds. As of 2015, the company also operates in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, with plans for expansion into

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. The company produces seeds for cotton, wheat, rice, sorghum, pearl millet, maize oilseeds and vegetables crops. Through a joint venture with Monsanto named Mahyco Monsanto Biotech, Mahyco sublicenses

Bt cotton Bt cotton is a genetically modified pest resistant plant cotton variety that produces an insecticide to combat bollworm. Description Strains of the bacterium ''Bacillus thuringiensis'' produce over 200 different Bt toxins, each harmful to diffe ...

technology in India. The Indian government has maintained price controls on Bt cotton seeds since at least 2011. Mahyco has 21 notified research varieties and production of 115 products across 30 crop species. Mahyco has six research centres in India focusing on molecular breeding, applied genomics, crop transformation, plant virus interaction,

molecular microbiology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. Though cells and other microsco ...

, abiotic stress tolerance and molecular entomology. The company has a research and development center at Dawalwadi near Jalna in Maharashtra, with an ongoing hybrid breeding program in over 30 crop species. Apart from the main R&D centre in Jalna, Mahyco has 3 research centres and 18 other location offices distributed across the country with over 150 scientists engaged in the research programs. As of 2014 Mahyco is present in over 20 countries, with offices in Singapore, Vietnam and recently acquired a controlling stake in Quton, the largest Cotton seeds company in Africa.

History

B. R. Barwale founded the company in 1964. In 2002, Monsanto and Mahyco's joint venture introduced Bt cotton technology to India. The joint venture's later attempt to introduce Bt brinjal to India was controversial and ultimately unsuccessful. In 2012, the government of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

blocked sale of Mahyco Bt Cotton seed in response to distribution and transparency problems. The company's licence to sell was reinstated in May 2013. The first hybrid wheat seed in India "Pratham 7070 " was developed by MAHYCO

Awards

2013: The Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE) recognizes Mahyco for outstanding contribution to the Indian agriculture sector 1990: Awards from the International Seeds and Science Technology (ISST) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI)
http://www.biospectrumindia.com/biospecindia/news/185700/mahyco-bags-able-award-contributions-agri-biotech-sector

References

{{Authority control Seed companies Agriculture companies of India Indian companies established in 1964 Companies based in Maharashtra 1964 establishments in Maharashtra Agriculture companies established in 1964