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Bt cotton may have taken almost 99% area under cotton cultivation in Maharashtra but, looking at the diminishing profit margins, the state government is planning to evolve other options to the genetically modified variety of the crop. [...] State agriculture minister Radhakrishan Vikhe-Patil has asked agriculture universities to develop alternatives to Bt cotton to make cotton a more profitable venture for farmers. [...] State agriculture commissioner Umakant Dangat told TOI that since the farmers took up Bt cotton the input costs in the form of fertilizers and pesticides have gone up manifold and it is no longer a sustainable crop, especially in the rain-fed or dry-land areas of the state like Vidarbha and Marathwada. ”Despite cultivation of Bt cotton across the state, the productivity, profitability and sustainability of the crop have gone down.