Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76FEBRUARY 2017 SEEDWORLD.COM / 15 on a potato that’s resistant to Phytophthora — the fungal dis- ease responsible for Ireland’s 19th century Great Famine. The potato is one of four major crops the com- pany is developing with its trade- marked Rapid Trait Development System (RTDS). The new potato is slated to go into commercial pro- duction in the United States at the end of this decade before being introduced in major global potato markets, says James Radtke, Cibus’ senior vice president for product development. “Potatoes are one of the most widely grown specialty crops in the United States, with 1.1 million acres grown annually, produced on farms stretching across all 50 states,” he says. “At the same time, more than $15 billion is spent each year by farmers seeking to protect crops from the damage caused by fungal diseases. Therefore, there is a huge market need for potatoes that can reduce fungicide use.” The company’s potato research looks at other quality traits, such as resistance to black spot bruising. “Potato growers are quite inter- ested in agronomic traits like weed control and disease control along with quality traits which allows them to maximize their profitabil- ity. Lowering the use of fungicide and other pesticides is also quite interesting to most growers as they understand most consumers prefer crops grown in an environmentally friendly manner,” Radtke notes. Producers welcome these developments, in part, because the industry has been devoid of trait development for some time, the company believes. “Since genetically modified potatoes are not acceptable in many countries, the potato indus- try has been deprived of new traits that have been developed in other crops using transgenic methods. Cibus’ RTDS technology offers a non-transgenic option to develop traits in potatoes.” 1.1 million potatoes are grown annually in the U.S. $15 billion are spent annually to protect potatoes from fungal diseases. 15 is the number of years Cibus has been working with gene-editing techniques. Radtke says Cibus is confident their potato can find success at the commercial level. “Cibus has an advantage over other gene editing companies because of our experience with the entire process of developing a new trait in our lab, confirming the trait value, moving that trait to elite genetics and actually selling to farmers,” he says. Cibus’ RTDS technology goes beyond other gene knockout techniques by making “targeted spelling changes to develop novel traits” that aren’t possible through other means, Radtke adds. But Cibus isn’t the only com- pany taking advantage of new plant breeding innovations. Corinne Marshall of Sakata Seeds, a global producer of vegetable and flower seed, adds it could really ben- efit growers plagued by pest and disease. “Viral disease transmitted by insects can be a huge problem,” she says. “Fungal pathogens in the