The National Council of Technical and Scientific Research (CONICET) in Argentina started last week the formal process to register the first transgenic potato cultivar in the country in the National Seed Institute’s register, writes eFarmNews.

In partnership with biotechnological company Sidus, the CONICET developed a potato with resistance to the virus Y, called SPT TICAR. The potato virus Y (PVY) is present in all the production zones of the country. This forces the farmers to acquire potato seed each season. But with the introduction of the SPT TICAR, they will be able to save their own potato to use as seed during the next three of four campaigns.

The developments were formally introduced in December 2018, with the presence of the ministry of Agriculture. According to the report, the new technology will provide potato farmers with a 10% saving cost, a total saving of up to 45m, lower use of insecticides and a general improvement of competitiveness across the value chain.

The partners have already stepped into the second stage of the project, and are working on a potato with drought tolerance, and other stacking virus resistance traits.