Insect-resistant potato bred first by Belarusian scientists

Scientists from the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus have announced a new research achievement: they have bred the world's first potato that can automatically kill pests.

According to a report by Russia's Interfax news agency on August 7, to date, a pest known by the scientific name Colorado potato beetle has been the biggest headache for farmers, because it destroys large areas of potato fields every year and causes huge economic losses to agriculture. A new type of genetically modified potato recently bred by Belarusian scientists can specifically poison this beetle to death.

A scientist involved in the research said that through experiments, they successfully transplanted a special gene into the potato plant, and this gene can continuously produce a toxin lethal to the Colorado potato beetle (this toxin is harmless to humans). Therefore, when the Colorado potato beetle begins to damage the potato stems and leaves, the toxin quickly penetrates the insect's body and poisons it to death.

At present, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is conducting field trial planting of this new type of potato. If all goes well, Belarus will be the first in the world to promote this genetically modified potato on a large scale.