Red, Green, and Blue | Patriotism that loves our country, our land, and our planet - 0 views
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What is ironic is that these vines represented about the least scary GMO crop imaginable. They were engineered to be resistant to a disease called Fan Leaf Virus that is spread by nematodes that live in the soil. Back before people understood this disease it was unintentionally spread to many grape-growing areas. Once a given vineyard is contaminated with the nematodes and virus, grapes will only survive for a few years on that site before declining and dying. Some of the best wine production areas around the world are seriously compromised this way, and there has been no lasting cure.
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at was being tested in Colmar was a “rootstock.” All grapes are cuttings of the desired variety (Gewurtztraminer, Cabernet, Chardonnay…) grafted on to a root that is resistant to various pests. The Colmar roots would have also been resistant to the virus. The top of the vine (all that is above ground) would be exactly like all the neighboring vineyards. In theory the grapes wouldn’t die in a few years (that is what the researchers were hoping to demonstrate).
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but this same irrationality is hindering efforts to provide things like virus resistant Cassava to poor farmers in Africa or virus resistant Papayas to people in Thailand.