Tastier and healthier Chardonnays in Italy: More sustainable fungal fighting gene-edited vines planted in Italian trial

“This is the first field trial with edited vines in Europe,” says Sara Zenoni, who teaches agricultural genetics at the University of Verona….

“If all goes well, in 2025 we will collect the first data on downy mildew susceptibility, which in the greenhouse appeared to be low, and we should already have some bunches of grapes to test. Then in 2026 we expect to proceed to winemaking,” Zenoni predicts.

This is the second field trial authorized in Italy for plants whose DNA has been targeted by gene editing. It follows the green light given to the University of Milan for edited rice, just a few months earlier, raising hopes that future applications from other teams will find an efficient authorization process.

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“Reducing the pesticides used in viticulture is a major challenge. New genomic techniques (NGTs) allows us to do it while preserving typicality, keeping the genetic identity of the vines intact,” argues Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics President Silvio Salvi.

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