In the field trial, apple trees were examined to which a gene from a wild apple was transferred using genetic engineering methods. The gene confers resistance to fire blight, the most important bacterial disease affecting apple trees worldwide.
Progression of the Project
Agroscope submitted an application for the permit to conduct the field trial to the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) in October 2015. It was approved on 3 May 2016 and the apple trees were planted a week later. Various surveys and samplings were carried out each year until the trees were uprooted in November 2020. The monitoring of the former trial area is still in progress.
