The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) of Switzerland has given
permission to the University of Zurich to conduct field trials of genically
modified (GM) barley under strict conditions on June 12, 2019.

The FOEN approved the application and set out the measures that the
university had to take to prevent GM material from spreading outside the
experimental area. These requirements are comparable to those made in
previous trials conducted in Switzerland. The field trial has been
restricted to five cultivation periods from spring 2019 to autumn 2023 and
will be carried out on a protected site at the Reckenholz (ZH) site of the
Swiss Federal Research Station Agroscope.

The barley that will be tested has been modified with the wheat resistance
gene Lr34. The researchers want to find out whether the
[www.isaaa.org] gene
can also protect corn and barley. The crop will be exposed to barley leaf
rust and powdery mildew fungi to test resistance. The field trials will also
test whether the genetic modifications have any effect on crop development
and yield.

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