Scientists aim to use genetic engineering to create a wilt-resistant plant, but some growers say biotechnology could backfire

New Mexico’s spicy chiles can make grown men cry and ease the common cold, but they haven’t fared well against root-rotting organisms known as Phytophthora.

Decades-long efforts by New Mexico State University researchers to grow a Phytophthora-fighting chile have proven largely futile. But scientists are now hoping that biotechnology and genetic research will help them create a new version lacking none of its ancestor’s spice – and the state Legislature is providing some help.

Lawmakers recently approved a $250,000 annual appropriation to New Mexico State University for both genetic-engineering research and mechanical harvesting. Both are key to the industry’s survival, say commercial chile growers.

“A lot of problems are solvable through conventional breeding,” said Steve Hanson, assistant professor in NMSU’s Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Weed Science. “Unfortunately, there are a couple of problems conventional breeding hasn’t solved, like chile wilt.”

But the idea of manipulating the genomic map of chile by inserting splices of DNA from other plants has traditional farmers and seed savers worried.

“Everyone in New Mexico wants the chile industry to be successful. We’d rather have it grown here than in China, and there’s a lot of merit for the work NMSU is doing to help the chile industry be more competitive,” said Paula Garcia, executive director of the New Mexico Acequia Association. But, she said, “When it comes to genetic engineering, they have to proceed with more safeguards and more consultation with stakeholders.”

Garcia, who is also a member of the New Mexico Food and Seed Sovereignty Alliance, said the pueblos and small-scale farmers in the group oppose genetic engineering because of the potential for those seeds to cross with nongenetically modified seeds. She said state funding for genetic research conflicts with a memorial the Legislature approved last year protecting native seeds “from genetic contamination.”

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