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The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) has won government approval to conduct field trials on a designated site at the Norwich Research Park between 2016 and 2019.
It is part of a project to develop a Maris Piper potato that is resistant to blight infections and nematode pests, bruises less and produces less acrylamide when cooked at high temperatures.
Prof Jonathan Jones, who is leading the project, said: “We have been looking at wild relatives of potatoes for new sources of resistance to potato late blight, a devastating disease which caused the Irish potato famine.
“It necessitates 10-20 chemical sprays per year for potato growers. The thinking is very simple: Would it not be great to replace all these sprays with genes which confer resistance?
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The GM potato field trial will take place on a small area of land, no larger than 1,000 sqm, at the John Innes Centre in Colney.
Approval has been granted from 2016 to 2019, and trials will be performed between May and November.
Read full, original post: The Sainsbury Laboratory prepares for blight-resistant GM potato trial
