Potato value chain stakeholders visit confined field trials in Pangalengan and Kledung
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EmailPotato value chain stakeholders visit confined field trials in Pangalengan and Kledung.
Potato value chain stakeholders in Pangalengan and Kledung Indonesia got an up close and personal look at the Global Biotech Potato Partnership's 3-R gene late blight resistant Granola potato variety during recent confined field trial visits.
In late May, the project hosted over forty guests at the Pangalengan trial site. The visitors viewed late blight resistant Granola variety potato plants alongside the traditional Granola variety. The traditional variety had succumbed completely to late blight while the genetically engineered Granola stood green and productive. Visitors were also surprised when they viewed the late blight disease resistant potatoes once dug up and saw that the tubers were identical to the traditional Granola potato tuber in every way.
In fact, research shows that the genetically engineered late blight resistant Granola tubers are exactly the same as the Granola tuber currently grown and loved throughout Indonesia with the only difference being that the plant is not affected by the disease.
The visit was led by the Indonesian Global Biotech Potato Partnership research team comprised of members from the Research Center for Horticultural and Estate Crops (RCHEC) of the Research Organization for Agriculture and Food (ROAF-BRIN) and the Research Center for Genetic Engineering (RCGE) of the Research Organization for Life Sciences and Environment (ROLSE-BRIN).
A second similar visit to the trial site in Kledung was held in early June with members of the potato value chains including farmers, government organizations, private sector and civil society organizations in attendance.
