By late 2011 or early 2012, the genetically modified (GM) fruit-and-shoot-borer-resistant (FSBR) eggplant will set a record by becoming the first public-sector GM/biotech crop product in the country, as well as the first GM/biotech food crop to be cultivated in the country.

The FSBR eggplant, or Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) eggplant, is expected to increase the income of eggplant farmers by 200 percent. UP Los Baños Prof. Desiree Hautea, former director of the Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB), is the FSBR eggplant project leader. According to her, the project is currently conducting field trials all over the country to test the plant’s viability in different locations.

arring any delays in the schedule, such as those caused by disasters or typhoons, seeds will be available in the market as early as October 2011. “We hope we can submit the data from the multi-location [tests] by early 2011. If it is approved by the regulators by the middle of 2011, we will then produce the seeds,” Prof. Hautea said.

FSBR field-trial eggplants in UPLB which were planted in April had an initial harvest of several eggplants on May 20, 2010. Since then, researchers have been harvesting every four days. They will terminate the field trial after 10 harvests. Another series of field trials will be made after two months.

This borer-free crop is expected to increase the income of farmers by 200 percent, or add another P50,000 per hectare of production. It is also expected to reduce the use of pesticides, and thus lessen health and environmental hazards and maintain biodiversity. Pesticides kill non-target lepidopterans or winged insects, such as cutworms, Helicoverpa and semilooper, and sucking insects like leafhopper, mites, aphids and thrips.

According to Prof. Hautea, based on the UP-IPB test results, Bt eggplant has no significant difference from eggplants sampled from several wet markets in Laguna in terms of moisture, oil, protein, ash, crude fiber and carbohydrate compositions. She added that no significant difference was observed for total phenols and flavonoid compositions either.

The FSBR or Bt eggplant was developed through modern biotechnology or genetic modification by incorporating the Bt gene into the eggplant. The eggplant produces a natural protein that makes it resistant to FSB, the major pest problem in eggplant production. Once the FSB caterpillars feed on plant leaves, shoots, and fruits, they lose their appetite and eventually die.

The FSBR eggplant was first developed by Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Co. (Mahyco) in India. Containing the Bt cry1Ac gene (the same gene used in Bt cotton), it was tested for seven years in different climatic zones in India, starting in 2001. Food and feed safety tests conducted showed no change in nutritional composition, no allergenicity, no toxicity to animals including rats, cows, goats, and birds, and no change in cooking and protein requirements. She said biosafety and food/feed safety tests on the Mahyco FSBR eggplant showed “effective control” of the eggplant [FSB] pest despite being “as safe as its non-Bt conterpart.” The GM crop, however, is also not yet commercialized in India.

Prof. Hautea said Mahyco licensed the FSBR eggplant “royalty-free” to UPLB through a public-private partnership, which means that the Philippines is free to bring it to commercial production. After the licensing agreement, Filipino scientists started research in 2003 in India. They introduced the FSBR eggplant technology to Philippine eggplant varieties they brought there. The breed was brought to the Philippines, where it underwent contained trials in UP-IPB in 2003, confined field trials in 2007, and now, the current multi-location trial all over the country.

he major areas of eggplant production in the country are Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Iloilo, Cebu, Agusan, Davao, and North Cotabato. They are expected to benefit the most from the FSBR eggplant.
Caption: The eggplant is one of the staple vegetables in the Philippines.