The Ministry of Food and Bioeconomy, under the Ministry of Agribusiness of Argentina, authorized the commercialization of the seed, and the products and by-products derived from the transgenic potato TIC-AR233.
Argentine researchers developed the tuber that has as main characteristic its resistance to the virus PVY, virus of the potato by its abbreviation in English.
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For Andrés Murchison, Secretary of Food and Bioeconomy, the impact on production and marketing will be important because crops, such as potatoes, are susceptible to many diseases caused by phytopathogenic agents (viruses, bacteria and fungi), which cause losses of up to 70% of the production.
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The potato virus is the second biggest threat to agriculture, after potato leaf roll virus (PLRV), which is perpetuated by infected tubers. It is transmitted by aphids, as well as dirty farming equipment.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in Spanish. This summary was prepared with Google Translate and edited for clarity.
Read full, original article: Argentina autorizó su primera papa transgénica: es resistente a un problemático virus
