In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature (LVVN), Wageningen University & Research (WUR) will start new field trials with genetically modified potatoes in 2026. The potatoes tested in these field trials have been genetically modified by adding or switching off multiple genes. These modifications ensure that the potatoes are resistant to diseases and pests, including the potato disease caused by Phytophthora infestans.
Researchers expect that the use of pesticides can be significantly reduced for these resistant varieties. It will be investigated how well the resistances perform and how crop protection can be adapted accordingly.
The start of the field trial is a next step in the development of genetically modified potatoes. The last field trial, carried out within the DuRPh project, dates back 11 years. At that time, additional resistance genes against Phytophthora were 'introduced' into popular potato varieties. Phytophthora is a persistent potato disease that can cause major damage to the harvest and is therefore controlled very intensively with pesticides. In particular, plants with multiple resistance genes proved to be highly resistant to Phytophthora, in contrast to potato plants that had no or only one resistance gene.
However, the potatoes from the DuRPh project were not brought to market as a potato variety. This is due to the way in which the resistance gene was introduced. This was not done through classical breeding, but via transformation. This is a technological 'tool' that results in a genetically modified potato plant. The use of genetically modified plants falls within European Union legislation that leads to a lengthy, costly and uncertain approval process. Moreover, even after successfully completing this process, market acceptance remains uncertain.
Improved technology
Since then, the technology has developed further, and genome editing now allows small, highly targeted changes to be made to the DNA of plants.. These are referred to as New Genomic Techniques (NGTs). These techniques result in plants that could in principle also be developed through classical breeding, meaning that they do not pose new safety risks.
In classical breeding, the same resistance genes are used, but due to the slow selection process, new varieties that are resistant to multiple diseases and pests become available for cultivation only slowly. With genetic modification and NGTs, the breeding of disease-resistant varieties can be significantly accelerated.
In the EU, a legislative process is underway to exempt plants developed using NGTs from the approval procedure for genetically modified plants. Because these new trials show what the application of genome editing and NGT plants means in practice, they can also help to facilitate a public debate in the Netherlands on NGT plants and sustainability.
