Potato producers to learn about GM

Published on Wednesday 10 February 2010 18:57

POTATO producers from all over the country will meet in Dundee later today to learn what might be possible if genetic modification is ever allowed in the breeding of varieties with resistance to disease and pests.

Dr Finlay Dale, plant breeder at the Scottish Crop Research Institute (SCRI), said he did not expect GM potato varieties to be allowed in this country for another ten to 15 years, but it was important to let producers know what was possible in breeding terms.

He said: "I believe GM technology offers tremendous potential, but it will only be part of the bigger toolbox used in breeding.

"Conventional breeding will remain central to bringing forward new potato cultivars for a long time yet, but the use of molecular markers to improve the efficiency and reduce the length of time taken to bring new varieties to market is very important.

"Thereafter, the use of transgenic material will allow breeders to concentrate on the more difficult challenges."

Dale emphasised that he believed potato breeders would only be interested in inserting potato genes into other potatoes and not across different species.

The use of molecular markers allows plant breeders to identify useful genes without complicating the programme through dragging in deleterious ones.

While there are now 25 countries growing GM crops and more than a billion hectares were grown last year, the main crops remain soybean, maize, cotton and oilseed rape.

So far, potatoes have not featured to any extent on this list although companies such as BASF and Simplot are working with commercial GM potato trials aimed at improving resistance and eating quality.

Dale, who has spent more than 30 years in plant breeding, said the demand for new varieties was now far more specific than it used to be.

SCRI has eight breeding programmes, ranging from cultivars suitable for the processing market through to new varieties for supermarket customers.

This relatively recent move to direct collaboration between the plant breeders and customers was far more successful in getting good varieties on to the market than the old system, where varieties were bred and then they tried to find a suitable slot in the market, he said. "We are not good at marketing and we now leave that to the experts."

SCRI is responsible for 80 per cent of all potato breeding in Scotland and Dale said it was an exciting time as new varieties would help reduce the volume of pesticides needed.

He said the institute was fortunate in having the Commonwealth potato collection on site as it provided a wide pool of genes that could be utilised in providing resistance to certain pests.

SCRI's commitment to new potato cultivars has been underlined with the appointment of Nessie Young, a young graduate who will be trained up to becoming a plant breeder.

"Our universities do not cater for anyone wanting to take up a career in plant breeding, so we thought we could do the job ourselves," said Dale.

Young, who studied plant pathology, said she was looking forward to her new career, as "potato breeding has a lot to offer, especially in this climate where food security is on the agenda".