COIMBATORE, INDIA-THE Philippines will adopt the technology used by India in producing a genetically modified, worm-free eggplant as soon as field trials for the crop are finished by next year.

Dr. Desiree Hautea, director of the Institute of Plant Breeding at the University of the Philippines at Los Baños, Laguna, and Southeast Asia coordinator of the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II (ABSP II), said the Philippines would adopt the technology to benefit Filipino farmers and consumers.

India, the world's largest eggplant-producing country, is in the last stages of field tests for the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) eggplant, also called the fruit and shoot borer-resistant (FSBR) eggplants, in the remote village of Nathagounden in Coimbatore, the second largest city of Tamil Nadu in India.

Dr. Ramasamy Chinnasamy, professor at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University's (TNAU) Center for Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology here, said the commercial release of the Bt eggplant was scheduled for late 2006 or early 2007 after the Indian government approves the results of their studies.

A group of journalists from the Philippines, Bangladesh and India visited the Nathagounden plantation last Nov. 14 on the invitation of the ABSP II and its global partners, Cornell University (the Sathguru Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd. manages its task in South Asia) and the UPLB.

The Bt eggplant is genetically engineered to contain a mechanism (Bt gene, Cry1Ac type) against eggplant worm known as the fruit and shoot borer.

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a soil bacterium that contains protein toxic to several insects, particularly worms that destroy eggplant fruits.

But studies made by Indian biotechnology and plant breeding experts showed that the Bt is not harmful to animals and humans.

Environmental groups, however, have strongly opposed the entry of genetically-modified organisms on grounds that the health benefits have not been fully verified, and could eventually harm humans.

Vijayaraghavan Kannan, SMCPL director, said the ABSP II focuses on the safe and effective development and commercialization of bio-engineered crops to enhance the production and yield of farmers.

Dr. Usha Zehr, joint director of Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Co., said pests, diseases and other environmental factors have been affecting eggplants and other crops, giving farmers a lower volume of harvest.

Farmers also earn less due to the huge expenses for pesticides to stop worms and other pests.

In 2003, ABSP II evaluated the technology used by Mahyco Monsanto Ltd. in Mumbai and concluded that its efforts to incorporate genes from Bt to produce worm-resistant eggplant provided the opportunity for global technology.

Vijayaraghavan said Mahyco's efforts have led to the development of FSBR eggplant in India, Bangladesh and the Philippines.

Mahyco owns and runs the Bt eggplant field station in Nathagounden while the TNAU is conducting another field trial in its greenhouse on its campus.

Vijayagrahavan said India's annual eggplant production is 8.2 million metric tons from 510,000 hectares.

He said each hectare of an eggplant farm earns from $2,000 to $3,000 per cropping season. Indian farmers follow three cropping seasons a year.

Eggplant, which is grown year round, is one of the most important vegetables consumed in sub-tropical and tropical countries like India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and China.

In the Philippines, over 20,000 hectares of land are devoted to eggplant production. The annual combined yield reaches more than 179,000 metric tons.

Most eggplant plantations are found in Cagayan Valley, the Ilocos, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Central Visayas and Western Visayas.