Syngenta applies for GM wheat trials in Germany
Date: 14-Mar-03
Country: GERMANY
It would be Germany's first GM wheat trials. The country forbids commercial production of GM crops but permits research plantings which have mainly focused on maize.
Syngenta has applied for permission to plant a test area of 400 square metres in the east German state of Thuringia of which 75 square metres would actually have GM seeds, said Peter Hefner, a spokesman for Syngenta in Germany.
He said trials involve wheat resistant to the fungus fusarium. Similar trials are also planned this year in the United Kingdom and France, he added.
The wheat would permit lower use of plant protection chemicals, he said.
It has already been tested in the U.S., Canada and Argentina and trails aim to see whether it is also resistant to the fungus in German conditions, he added.
An application has been made for plantings to be made this year, he said.
Germany's state-owned Robert Koch scientific institute is responsible for approving the safety of GM crop trials in the country.
An institute spokeswoman confirmed that an application has been received but said no comment is made on applications while they are being processed.
Asked when a decision could be expected she said it would be "a matter of weeks."