The development of pest-resistant eggplants genetically-modified to express a natural insecticide derived from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), thus making it resistant to the fruit and shoot borer (FSB), is moving from greenhouse experiments to large-sclae field trials.



All the safety tests for the Bt eggplant have been conducted in India, starting in greenhouses and now moving to large-scale field trials. The eggplant has been found to be nontoxic to fish, chickens, rabbits, goats, rats and cattle as well as nonallergenic. Ongoing tests will examine such questions as whether the plant will continue to resist FSB in the field and for how long; whether the Bt eggplant cross pollinates with other eggplants in the field and how far the Bt plants should be from other eggplant fields; whether nontarget insect populations are affected in the long term; and how yields compare with those of other eggplant varieties.
The GM-ggplant is expected to be the first genetically engineered food crop in South Asia, and is expected to reduce the use of insecticides by 30%, which is considerable, given that about 1.5 million acres in India and Bangladesh is planted to eggplants.

Source: Fresh Plaza