This genetic engineering advance could decrease economic losses for grape growers and reduce the amount of chemicals put into the environment. It paves the way for plant breeders to improve disease and insect resistance of all major grape varieties. Scientists from the University of Florida and Cornell participated in the research. Plant breeders can use the new line to develop cultivars resistant to the fungus, Sclerotinia trifoliorum . Sclerotinia causes one of the worst alfalfa diseases in the southeastern and southcentral United States.
Severe outbreaks can wipe out entire fields.
But no resistant varieties currently are available to farmers who attempt to grow the legume for high-protein forage. In greenhouse-grown plants, the researchers found less disease in MSR than in 26 commercial cultivars. In fungus-infected field plots, the new line's yield averaged 83 percent of plots free of Sclerotinia disease. Commercial varieties fared much worse, yielding only 38 to 49 percent when infected with the fungus. Also known as filberts, hazelnuts are popular roasted and in baked goods.