Modifications in a wide range of crops are at the research and development stage internationally, including the following examples:

• Stress tolerant crops (e.g. to drought, cold and saline soils)

• Pest and disease resistance

• Improved crop keeping quality

• Improved oil crops for food and industrial processing

• Improved feeding value

• Improved Vitamin E content

• Elimination of specific food allergies

• Pharmaceutical production (vaccines, cystic fibrosis treatment)

• Energy crops (ethanol)

• Trees for papermaking

The crops being modified include: cabbage, chilli, cotton, forage grasses, forage clovers, melon, maize, papaya, peanut, petunia, potato, rapeseed, rice, soybean, squash, sweet pepper, tobacco, tomato, and wheat.

Sources:

C. James (2002). Global Review of Commercialized Transgenic Crops: 2001. Feature: Bt Cotton. ISAAA Briefs No. 26 - 2002 (http://www.isaaa.org/Publications/briefs/briefs_26afri.htm)

OECD (1992). Biotechnology, Agriculture and Food. OECD, Paris

J.M. Dunwell (2002). Future prospects for transgenic crops. Phytochemistry Reviews, 1, 1.

A. Cockburn (2004). Commercial plant breeding: what is in the biotech pipeline? Journal of Commercial Biotechnology, 10, 197-272.

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