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A nonbrowning apple variety and a disease-resistant banana may be the next commodities to test consumer acceptance of biotechnology in fresh produce.
The U.S. has more than 144 million acres of biotech crops under cultivation, but virtually none of that acreage is represented by crops grown for the fresh produce market. In contrast, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported this year that 80% of the nation's field corn crop and 92% of soybeans were biotech varieties.
The slow development in biotechnology for fresh produce has been rooted in caution about consumer attitudes. The genetically engineered Flavr Savr tomato was unveiled in 1992 but ran aground amid activist resistance, prolonged regulatory reviews and lukewarm market acceptance.
"There are very few biotech derived fruits and vegetables on the market and there is not too many being actively developed that are close to being on the market," said Michael Wach, managing director for science and regulatory affairs for the Food and Agriculture Department of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, Washington, D.C.
"I don't see anybody in the Washington (state) apple industry trying to market a genetically modified apple at this point in time for fear of getting clobbered by the activists," said economist Desmond O'Rourke, president of Belrose Inc., Pullman, Wash.
However, commercial acceptance of bioengineered apples may not be that far off, said Herb Aldwinckle, Cornell University professor at the Geneva, N.Y.-based New York State Agricultural Experiment Station.
"I think there might be some genetically engineered varieties out within five years, and some of those might be the nonbrowning apple varieties," he said.
Meanwhile, Cornell's biotechnology work on disease-resistance for apples - primarily for fire blight and apple scab - is a little further off, he said.
"I can see us having some varieties commercialized between five and 10 years," he said.
About 50% of the Hawaiian papaya crop is genetically modified (to combat the potentially industry-killing ringspot virus), and Aldwinckle estimated about 20% to 25% of the summer squash supply is grown from seeds developed by biotechnology. Aldwinckle said Cornell has a small trial of the biotech non-browning apples, developed by Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc., a privately-held agriculture biotechnology company based in Summerland, British Columbia.
Neal Carter, president of Okanagan Specialty Fruits, said the firm has a couple of field trials ongoing for five varieties of nonbrowning apples.
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