Oxitec has applied to Spanish regulatory authorities for permission to carry out a netted field evaluation of its olive fly strain: a novel approach to controlling one of Europe’s most damaging agricultural pests.
If approved, the study would be the first outdoor trial of a GM insect in the EU.
The olive fly (Bactrocera oleae) is the single major pest for olives, causing widespread crop damage and significant financial losses to Europe’s olive farmers. It is extremely difficult to control using existing methods. John Vontas, Associate Professor of Biotechnology and Applied Biology, University of Crete, Greece, a leading international authority on insecticide resistance, explains the problem: “The control of olive fly has been largely based on the use of chemicals, but the intense use of insecticides has led to the development of insecticide resistance, which makes control problematic.”
Read the full, original story here: “Oxitec’s Olive Fly Strain Could Become First GM Insect to Undergo Field Evaluation in the EU”