The candidate lines of the Papaya Ringspot Virus-Resistant (PRSV-R) Papaya are now in their confined trial site. The planting of the first perennial transgenic crop in the Philippines was conducted last February 23, 2007 at the Crop Science Cluster, Institute of Plant Breeding (CSC-IPB), College of Agriculture-University of the Philippines Los Baños (CA-UPLB). This milestone of a Philippine government-initiated project was carried out after the National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines (NCBP) formally approved the confined trial through a letter dated February 12, 2007.

Aside from the project leaders and staff, those who attended the planting activity were regulators from the Bureau of Plant Industry-Plant Quarantine Section (BPI-PQS), a representative from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to the NCBP and a member of the University of the Philippines Los Baños -Institutional Biosafety Committee (UPLB-IBC). The presence of these respective authorities ensures that the activity is done in accordance to the prescribed regulations of the NCBP.

This confined trial is a research activity, which is a part of the process on the development of the transgenic resistant line. The objective of the confined trial is for disease evaluation screening for resistance to PRSV of the candidate lines. There are three candidate T3 PRSV resistant lines that were planted plus the control. In total, there were 135 inoculated T3 seedlings plus 45 uninoculated and 45 inoculated 'Davao Solo' seedlings that were planted. Aside from these, 64 uninoculated 'Davao Solo' seedlings were also transplanted as border plants.

The project is being funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project (ABSP II), Economic Modernization Through Efficient Reforms and Governance Enhancement (EMERGE) and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).

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