VOA Special English

The normal plants lost their green color. Finally, they lost their leaves. But the researchers say the transgenic plants kept their leaves and their color.

After the fifteen dry days, all the plants were watered again for a week. The transgenic plants returned to normal growth, and their seed production was close to normal. But the other plants all died.

Rosa Rivero says the transgenic plants kept a relatively high water level. They also continued to produce energy during the dry period, although at a reduced level. The amount of seeds they produced was close to normal.

In addition, the researchers found that the plants could survive on only thirty percent of the normal amount of irrigation water. Yield loss was minor, they said.

The findings appeared late last year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The University of California has applied for patent protection for the technology.

The researchers expect to move forward with field testing of the transgenic tobacco in late August. They hope for similar results with crops like tomatoes, rice, wheat and cotton.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I'm Steve Ember.

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