Philippines MEDIA RELEASE: University
of the Philippines readies borer-free eggplant 07-September-2010 SEARCA BIC
Press Release
The University of the Philippines
is in high hopes to commercialize its first-ever locally developed
genetically modified (GM) eggplant in the next two years once
it has passed the rigorous and robust science-based safety
assessments set by the Philippine biotech regulatory framework.
The fruit and shoot borer-resistant (FSB-R) eggplant, also
called Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) eggplant, being developed
by the Institute of Plant Breeding of the University of the
Philippines Los Banos (UPLB), is currently under multi-location
trials in seven sites within the country including Pangasinan,
Laguna, Camarines Sur, Ilo-ilo, Leyte, Davao City, and Cotabato.
The multi-location trial is one of the several levels of safety
assessments where the biotech product performance and safety
to environment are being evaluated before it undergoes to
another series of evaluation prior to commercial release.
According to Dr. Desiree Hautea, FSBR/Bt eggplant project
leader, the development of FSBR/Bt eggplant in the Philippines
started through the granting of royalty-free license to
UPLB from the Indian Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Limited
(Mahyco), to use its eggplant lines as source of FSB resistant
trait for the Philippine eggplant variety. Through this
public-private partnership, UPLB scientists started the
research in 2003 and underwent contained trials in UPLB-IPB,
confined field trials in 2007, and now, the current multi-location
trial all over the country. The Bureau of Plant Industry
from the Department of Agriculture is spearheading the safety
assessment of biotech crops under the field trial stage.
The FSBR/Bt eggplant developed through modern biotechnology,
produces a natural protein that makes it resistant to FSB,
the major pest problem in eggplant production. “In the Philippines,
damage by FSB results in yield losses from 54-70%, and to
date, there is no available commercial varieties resistant
to this pest. Through the development of FSBR/Bt eggplant,
farmers may double its income by 200 percent and gain an
additional of Php 50,000 per hectare of production,” said
Dr. Hautea. Likewise, she stressed that insecticide application
may lessen up to 72 times per season and may decrease spraying
that accounts to 24% of production cost.
Eggplant is one of the major vegetable crop in the country
in terms of area and volume of production, and small-scale
farmers are expected to benefit most from the promising
FSBR/Bt eggplant technology.
For related information regarding this article, visit University
of the Philippines Newsletter at http://www.up.edu.ph/upnewsletter.php?issue=66&i=1209.
To learn more about the Bt eggplant project in the Philippines,
visit http://isaaa.org/programs/supportprojects/abspii/research/default.asp.
For more news updates on biotechnology, visit the SEARCA
Biotechnology Information Center website at http://www.bic.searca.org,
or e-mail bic@agri.searca.org. (Jenny A. Panopio / Rochella
B. Lapitan, SEARCA BIC)
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Jenny A. Panopio
Special Project Coordinator & Network Administrator
Biotechnology Information Center
SEAMEO SEARCA
College, Laguna 4031
Email: jap at agri.searca.org
Tel: (63-49)536-2290 loc 169 or 406
Tele/Fax: (63-49)536-4105
URL: www.bic.searca.org
SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center UPLB Campus 4031, Los Baños, Laguna, PHILIPPINES
Telephone +6349 536 2290 ext. 406 / 169 / 135
Fax +6349 536 4105
E-mail bic@agri.searca.org
SEARCA BIC is one of the biotechnology information nodes of the International
Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications Global Knowledge
Center (ISAAA KC) and hosted by the Southeast Asian Regional Center
for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). It was officially
established in 2000 to address the needs of the region for a highly
credible, sound and factual biotechnology information center in the
Southeast Asian region accessible to various stakeholders.
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